Palmer Chiropractic in Richmond Hill –  Most headaches are not fatal but they negatively impact the quality of our lives. In bad cases,  headaches restrict our occupation and social life. Headaches have a wide range of causes including infection, hangovers, mal-nourishment, lack of sleep and even serious conditions, such as subluxations, aneurysms, tumors, and TIAs.

The most common headaches include tension and migraine, which are associated with nervous system disorders. Almost 280 million people in the U.S. will experience some type of headache. Nearly 14 million people experience headaches on a near-daily basis (one in five women and one in twenty men, experience migraine headaches). About 10% of school-age children suffer from migraines. American employers lose more than $13 billion each year as a result of 113 million lost work days.  Migraines cost employers and employees billions of dollars.

In a migraine headache, the blood vessel on the outside of the skull under the skin of the temple enlarges. When this occurs, nerves around the artery stretches and releases compounds that cause irritation and severe pain. The larger the blood vessel gets, the more intense the pain.

Most people know Chiropractic care can benefit patients for tension/cervicogenic headaches. But, can Chiropractic care help migraines too? Here’s what research dating all the way back to 1997 says… The study, published in the Journal Of Manipulative And Physiological Therapeutics (2011), compared  medication, spinal adjustments, and the combination of both medication and adjustments. There was a 4 week baseline period, followed by 8 weeks of treatment and then 4 weeks of follow-up on a total of 218 patients diagnosed with migraine headaches.

RESULTS: “Clinically important improvement was observed in both primary and secondary outcomes in all three study groups over time. The reduction in headache index scores during treatment compared with baseline was 49% for amitriptyline, 40% for spinal manipulation, and 41% for the combined group. During the post-treatment follow-up period, the reduction from baseline was 24% for amitriptyline, 42% for spinal manipulation, and 25% for the combined group.”

CONCLUSION: “There was no advantage to combining amitriptyline and spinal manipulation for the treatment of migraine headaches. Spinal manipulation seemed to be as effective as a well-established and efficacious treatment (amitriptyline). And on the basis of a benign side effects profile, it should be considered a treatment option for patients with frequent migraine headaches.”

Chiropractic is the science and art of finding and correcting vertebra that are misplaced and causing neurological dysfunction. By moving the vertebra back to its normal position and allowing the command and control system of the body (nervous system) to function at optimum performance, your body is free to function as it should. Call today to schedule an appointment with your chiropractor.

Yours in health,

Dr. Trace Palmer

Palmer Chiropractic

11400 Ford Ave

Richmond Hill, Ga 31324

912-756-3433

2011 Study – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21640251 JMPT

2010 Study – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19837005 Spine Journal

2001 Study – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11562654 JMPT

1998 Study – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9798179 JMPT