Chiropractic Care for Treatment of Headaches

Headache is one of the most common conditions seen in chiropractic offices. Over the last decade headaches represented 13 percent of chiropractic patient’s presenting complaints.  Headaches not only have a significant adverse impact on adults but “frequent or severe headaches including migraine in the past 12 months were reported in 17.1 percent of children.” Extensive research has addressed the many types of headache and the last year has seen several important publications investigating the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment and spinal manipulation.

An extensive review of the literature will appear in the next issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) and provides guidelines for chiropractic treatment of adult headaches.The work was done by a group of Canadians and documents the research support for chiropractic management (high-velocity, low-amplitude thrusts) for both migraine and cervicogenic headaches. Mobilization may also be effective for tension-type headache and cervicogenic headache.

A new Dutch study of chronic tension type headache (CTTH) compared treatment from medical providers in general practice (GP) to chiropractic. That study concluded that “Manual therapy is more effective than usual GP care in the short- and longer term in reducing symptoms of CTTH.”

The Healthiest Sleeping Posture

The Best: Back position

Good for: Preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux.

Bad for: Snoring

The scoop: Sleeping on your back makes it easy for your head, neck, and spine to maintain a neutral position. You’re not forcing any extra curves into your back, It’s also ideal for fighting acid reflux; If the head is elevated, your stomach will be below your esophagus so acid or food can’t come back up.

Perfect pillow: One puffy one. The goal is to keep your head and neck supported without propping your head up too much.

Next Best: Side position

Good for: Preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux, snoring less, sleeping during pregnancy

The scoop: Side-sleeping is great for overall health — it reduces snoring and keeps your spine elongated. If you suffer from acid reflux, this is the next best thing to sleeping on your back.

Consider this: If you’re pregnant, sleep on your left side. It’s ideal for blood flow.

Perfect pillow: A thick one. You need to fill the space above your shoulder so your head and neck are supported in a neutral position.

The Worst: Stomach position

Good for: Easing snoring

Bad for: Avoiding neck and back pain

The scoop: Stomach-sleeping makes it difficult to maintain a neutral position with your spine. What’s more, the pose puts pressure on joints and muscles, which can irritate nerves and lead to pain, numbness, and tingling.

Think about the soreness you’d feel if you kept your neck turned to one side for 15 minutes during the day, in this position you have your head to one side for hours at a time. You won’t necessarily feel it the next day, but you may soon start to ache.

Perfect pillow: Just one (and make it a thin one) or none at all.

56% of people with lower-back aches say symptoms disrupt their daily routines, including sleep and sex. Not only that, but it’s the fifth most common reason for hospitalizations and third most common cause of surgery. Talk about a pain in the…back.

There are many possible causes of back pain, and several situations combine to create that pain. And it turns out that some seemingly insignificant everyday habits can take a big toll on your back over time. Here are some of the top ten mistakes that may be causing your aches and how to correct them.

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Exercising with Back Pain

One of the most frustrating things for many back pain sufferers is that it (the back pain) interferes with their ability to exercise…and that exercise often times makes the back pain worse.  And the funny thing is…the right kind of exercises are probably one of the best things one can do to cure back pain. And most will agree that regular exercise (especially the right kind) actually helps prevent back pain in the first place.

So what gives…how can exercise cause back pain and prevent it…and be both good and bad when you have back pain?

All of us are different, and we develop a certain level of tolerance for exercise based on how often we do it and what we do.  If we deviate from these established routines, the body will adapt, often times in a negative way.

Is there a solution?…YES. The solution is to consider this variable when you engage in physical activities that are outside of what you would normally do on a day to day basis. If you walk a mile a day…then all the sudden walk ten miles…you will most likely get really sore. But if you walk a mile, then two miles, then 3 miles…and work your way up to 10, stretching before and after, and using ice in between, well chances are really good you will handle it no problem.

Same is true when exercising with back pain you already have. You want to start off really slow…maybe with some stretches and back pain exercises…then build up the amount of frequency, intensity, and duration, slowly over time. A good chiropractor, physical therapist, or personal trainer can help you do this…or you can do it on your own using common sense and these tips.

Usually, when exercise makes a patients back pain  worse, it’s because they did too much, or the wrong kind of exercise. You don’t want to jump right back into your normal “pre-back pain” workout with back pain. You want to take a few steps back and scale back into it…slowly. Otherwise, yes…you can make the back pain worse.

Icing should be a big part of exercising with back pain. I recommend you ice for 15 minutes before and after exercise. I also recommend you stretch out for 5 minutes before and after…nice and easy…no sudden jerky motions.

Then…when your back pain is gone and you are feeling better…consider adding “core” exercises to your routine to make your back stronger and better able to handle increased work and stress.