Does Chiropractic Care Help with Migraines?
Have you found an effective treatment strategy for your migraines? Medication may dull the pain, but dizziness, nausea, and other side effects may make you wonder if the temporary pain relief was worth it. Home remedies aren't always successful either. Plunging your feet into ice-cold water or massaging the skin between your thumb and forefinger might help some people, but offers little relief for others. Chiropractic care offers a better solution. Treatments ease your pain and could even reduce the frequency of your migraines.
Living with Migraines
Migraines affect more than one billion people worldwide, according to the American Migraine Foundation (AMF). Women are more likely to experience migraines than men, as some migraines are triggered by fluctuating levels of the hormone estrogen.
Genetics also affect your migraine risk. You're 50% more likely to develop migraines if you have one parent with migraines and 75% more likely if both parents have migraines, according to the AMF.
Whether you're male or female, you may experience these common migraine symptoms:
- Throbbing, Pounding Pain in Front of the Head, Temples, and the Area Around the Eyes (Pain may affect one side or both sides of the head)
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sensitivity to Light, Sounds, and Smells
- Stiff, Sore Muscles in the Head, Neck, and Shoulders
Some people with migraines also experience auras. These sensory symptoms occur about an hour before a headache begins and may include flashing lights, blurry vision, ringing in the ears, or difficulty speaking.
4 Chiropractic Treatments for Migraines
Your chiropractor may recommend one or more of these treatments:
- Spinal Manipulation. Chiropractors use spinal manipulation to adjust misaligned vertebrae in your back and neck. Quick thrusts, performed with the hands or a small activator, realign the spine. Adjustments reduce migraine-related pain, stiffness, and inflammation in the head and neck. According to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Headache in 2019, spinal manipulation may be an effective way to decrease migraine pain and frequency, although researchers caution that more research is needed.
- Trigger Point Therapy. Do you have hard, painful knots in your neck or head muscles? The knots, called trigger points, can cause pain that extends beyond the trigger point. Knots can cause migraines or worsen your migraine pain. During chiropractic treatment, steady pressure applied to trigger points releases the tight muscle fibers in the knot. Nine months of spinal manipulation and trigger point therapy reduced migraine frequency in a patient whose case study was published in Global Advantages in Health and Medicine in 2019. The patient's pain level dropped from a 7 or 8 out of 10 to a 3 out of 10 after treatment.
- Massage Therapy. Massage keeps muscles and soft tissues loose and flexible, which not only reduces pain, but could help prevent new migraines. Have you noticed that massages help you feel relaxed or sleepy? The calming effect occurs when pain-reducing and mood-improving hormones flood your body during a massage.
- Soft Tissue Mobilization. Your chiropractor may use soft tissue mobilization to relax tight tissues and muscles. During these treatments, your chiropractor applies gentle pressure from the hands or a small instrument to stretch and loosen muscles and tissues in your neck, head, shoulders, and back. According to a research study published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine in 2020, soft tissue treatments significantly reduced the need for pain medication and decreased headache frequency, intensity and duration in people with migraines.
Looking for a natural way to relieve your migraines? Our treatments target the source of your pain. Contact our office to schedule an appointment with the chiropractor.
Sources:
American Migraine Foundation: The Facts About Migraine, 3/28/2019
https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/migraine-facts/
Headache: The Impact of Spinal Manipulation on Migraine Pain and Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, 3/14/2019
https://headachejournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/head.13501
Journal of Chiropractic Medicine: The Impact of Soft Tissue Techniques in the Management of Migraine Headache: A Randomized Controlled Trial, 8/1/2020
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7486477
Global Advantages in Health and Medicine: Integrating Chiropractic Care Into the Treatment of Migraine Headaches in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Case Series, 3/28/2019
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6440032/
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice: Reasons for and Perceived Benefits of Utilizing Complementary and Alternative Medicine in U.S. Adults with Migraines/Severe Headaches, 2/2018
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1744388117303857
FamilyDoctor.org: Migraines, 9/9/2024