What’s Causing that Pain in Your Head?

It’s back again ~ that all too familiar throbbing pain in your head. Do you know what actually causes your headaches?

Neck Pain

The pain you feel when you have a headache is not located in your brain, even though it feels that way. The pain is actually sensed by nerve endings located in your head and neck. Many types of events, inside and outside of your body, serve as “triggers” that can bring on a headache. Knowing what most often triggers your headaches can help you avoid them.

The most common triggers are emotional (stress, anger, anxiety), food-related (processed foods such as cold cuts, alcohol, nuts, and dairy products), hormonal (birth control pills, menstruation, menopause), environmental (noise, air travel, changes in temperature/humidity), or physiological (illness, skipping a meal, overtiredness).

A study, conducted by Dr. Eisenberg at Harvard University, reported that chiropractors are the most common alternative health provider consulted for headache pain. Chiropractors are trained to locate and correct misalignments in the vertebrae in the upper spine and neck. These misalignments put pressure on adjacent nerves ~ pressure that can cause your headaches.

So, instead of reaching for the headaches pills the next time you feel a headache coming on, call our office and have your spine checked instead!

Dr. Matt Asks some important questions of interest to Stillwater residents - Chiropractor Stillwater Dr. Matt Asks...

Will chiropractic adjustments make my spine too loose?
No. Only the spinal joints that are fixated and "locked up" receive attention. The occasional spinal joint that moves too much is passed over so weakened muscles and ligaments can strengthen and heal.
Where do most Stillwater residents get their first subluxation?
Being born in a hospital is a common source of subluxation. Trauma from forceps delivery has been replaced with drugs, vacuum extraction, Cesarean section and births that are "scheduled" to fit the workweek routines of Ob-Gyns. That's why we recommend a chiropractic checkup for every Stillwater newborn.