Why is my head hurting again? This is a very common complaint I hear in my office. People who suffer from constant headaches and don’t know why they won’t stop. There is always a reason for headaches. It’s not because it’s “just how I am”, as many people believe. There are many causes of headaches, including hormonal, nutritional, neurological, skeletal and muscular. Once we know where the headache is coming, we can take steps towards resolving it.
Tension Headache
Tension headaches are the most common type. They are caused by muscle tightness, skeletal joints tightness, or nerve irritation. These headaches are most common in people who are stressed, who have a demanding work or personal life, or who sit all day in an office. These headaches are caused by constant stress in the body.
The body responds to stress by creating muscle spasms and tightening the spinal joints. We can quickly diagnose and treat tension headaches. Find the base of your skull with your thumbs. Now feel 2 bumps on each side. Push on those bumps, then move an inch lower to push on the spots.
Tension Headache
Tension headaches are diagnosed when one or both of the bumps is tender or causes you to have a headache. You can also test for tension headaches by pressing on your shoulder areas. If they are tight, painful or cause you headaches, then it is likely that you have tension headaches.
A migraine headache is another common type of headache. These headaches are usually caused by a lack of oxygen reaching the brain. Here’s how it works. When oxygen levels drop, blood vessels expand to allow more blood flow to the brain. This is how your body responds to a decrease of oxygen. It tries to open up the area and get more oxygen. It’s a normal, highly effective process. But, nerves that are wrapped around these expanding blood vessels react with pain and don’t like being pushed on. This is how you get migraines.
Blood Vessel
The blood vessels are expanding and they are expanding into nerves that cause migraines. What can a person do? We treat migraines in the office by increasing the intake of oxygen. Adjustments to the rib cage and thoracic spine are usually used to do this. These adjustments allow the lungs expand more than normal, increasing oxygen levels. After a few adjustments, the body will begin to take in more oxygen per breath and migraines will be less frequent.
The hormonal and nutritional causes of migraines and headaches can also be present. Both can be treated in the same way. It’s not as difficult as it seems. A more complex treatment is required for hormonal migraines. These are migraines that occur during a woman’s menstrual cycle. These women need to balance their hormones (many sufferers of menstrual migraines also have fibrocystic breast diseases, fibroids or acne, all signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance).
Hormonal Balance
There is evidence that diet can balance hormones. These people experience remarkable results when they eat a diet rich in micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. This is a short summary of some types of headaches. The main message is that you don’t have headaches. They don’t make your headaches go away, they just make it easier to manage. They can be treated if we understand why they are occurring. There is hope for chronic headache sufferers and everyone should be able live pain-free.
