Cary Chiropractors talk about Headaches and the Spine

Symptoms—body signals—are the body’s way of telling us that there is a deeper, underlying problem. A headache, like any symptom, is essentially an alarm bell telling us that we need to take action. Migraines are extremely painful, recurring headaches that are sometimes accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea or visual disturbances (seeing an aura).

Masking a symptom may give us temporary relief but it doesn’t correct the actual problem. In fact it enables us to ignore the real issue as it gets worse over time. Medication, while effective in offering temporary relief, often only masks the symptoms and can produce serious side effects.

Possible side effects from medications prescribed for headaches can include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, diarrhea, heartburn, constipation, liver damage, kidney damage, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, weight gain, elevated blood pressure, blood sugar problems, insomnia, fatigue, memory problems, anxiety, sensitivity to sunlight, and leg pain, to name a few. Oh, and there is one more: headaches!

Headache statistics in our country are astronomical. According to the American Headache Society:

• Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States goes to the emergency room with a headache or migraine.
• More than $1 billion is spent annually on over-the-counter medications to treat headaches and migraines.
• Lost work time due to migraines costs more than $13 billion every year in the U.S.

Chiropractic care can help migraine sufferers get to the root of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms. At Legacy Chiropractic we practice the Gonstead method of chiropractic. This very specific and gentle method evaluates the whole spine using a very detailed analysis, including X-rays, nervous system analysis, and palpation.

Through our analysis we commonly find that migraines are linked to two key areas of the spine, the base of the neck and the middle of the low back. These areas neurologically correlate to hormone production. If there is irritation in these parts of the spine, hormones can shift out of balance and produce migraines, which is why migraines are sometimes called hormonal headaches. Once these key areas of the spine are addressed most people’s symptoms improve.

Sarah, a patient, says, “Before I began seeking chiropractic care, I had been suffering from migraines almost every day. My migraines would interfere with my daily life making it hard to function and focus, especially at work. I was taking about six Advils a day for the pain. As a nurse, I am aware of the dangers of excessive use of Advil as well as the damages it can do to the body. I thought migraines were something I always had to live with until I was referred to Dr. Ballam. Immediately after receiving my first week of chiropractic adjustments my headaches were significantly less. After nearly four months of receiving adjustments I’m headache free. I would definitely recommend Legacy Chiropractic to anyone who is looking to improve their overall health and well-being.”

I use specific chiropractic adjustments to correct key areas of the spine, an approach that has proven to be effective in working with seniors, children, and pregnant women in addition to the general population. I truly believe we are programmed for life, health and vitality and we should expect nothing less. Over and over, I see suffering people who are told to manage their symptoms without any correction to the cause. My desire is to give my patients hope and an understanding that they have a choice to do something different with their health today. I look forward to sharing with you chiropractic and everything it has to offer.

This article is also published in the Health and Healing paper and can be viewed at http://healthandhealingonline.com/connecting-migraines-and-your-spine/