Ever wondered if you could get a chiropractor for migraines? In addition to all the back and body issues that a chiropractor can help with, we also help treat intermittent and chronic migraines.
This guide contains the information you need about chiropractic care and the potential impact on migraines.
It’s time to kick painful, debilitating migraines to the curb. Let’s explore the possibilities together.
Over 39 million Americans are affected by migraines. Throbbing pain, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and other symptoms can make it challenging to function normally.
What causes these intense headaches?
Several factors may contribute to migraines including genetics, environment, and neurological factors. Researchers have yet to pinpoint the exact cause.
External factors, known as triggers, can also initiate a migraine attack. Triggers vary from person to person but may include certain foods, stress, and environmental factors.
Migraine sufferers often have an increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli. Things like light, sound, and smells may trigger a migraine.
Another trigger could be the medications you take to get relief from migraines. Taking prescription medications more than 10 days out of the month may trigger more migraine attacks.
Migraines go beyond headaches. They can significantly impact daily life due to the severe and debilitating symptoms they cause.
The effects of migraines can affect just about every area of life, including:
People who suffer from migraines often complain about not getting enough quality. sleep. Both the pain and associated symptoms can make it challenging to fall asleep or stay asleep. Poor sleep leads to fatigue, which further impacts daily activities.
A chiropractor can be a valuable ally in understanding and managing the impact of migraines on daily life.
Visiting your family doctor for help with migraines may leave you feeling disappointed. Migraine treatments at your doctor’s office focus mainly on relieving pain.
Here are some common approaches used in conventional migraine treatment:
Conventional treatments like pain medications may provide only temporary relief. They often fall short of addressing the underlying causes and preventing future episodes.
This leads many people to seek alternative options, such as chiropractic care.
Chiropractors offer solutions that address the root causes of pain and improve overall well-being. We try our best to treat our patients with a holistic approach to migraine management.
Your care plan may include one or all of these treatments:
You may notice something missing from the list: prescription pain medications, injections, and surgery.
Chiropractors help patients find long-term solutions for migraine pain without using invasive or chemical treatments. We usually steer clear of offering opioids or other heavy pain meds.
Chiropractic care offers promise for migraine sufferers. There are several potential benefits of visiting a chiropractor for treatment.
One is a reduction in the frequency of migraine episodes. Using gentle chiropractic adjustments, a chiropractor for migraines can help reduce the frequency of migraine attacks.
In addition to fewer migraine attacks, many patients say when they do get a migraine, it’s less intense after treatment.
Picture this: your spine is like the pillar supporting your entire body, and when it’s in its ideal alignment, it can do some incredible things.
A properly aligned spine can work wonders on painful migraines because it helps relieve tension and stress on the surrounding muscles and nerves. This is critical because muscle tension or nerve irritation is often a migraine trigger.
By skillfully manipulating your spine, we help address these issues head-on. Our goal is to bring your spine back into alignment. This gives those muscles and nerves the freedom they need to relax, potentially reducing the frequency or intensity of migraines.
Spinal adjustments, massages, and stretching exercises work together to help relieve muscle tension. Imagine the relief you’ll feel without tension in your neck, shoulders, and upper back.
Similarly to aligning your spine to allow your muscles to relax, misalignment or subluxation in your spine can wreak havoc on your nerve function. And guess what? This can contribute to migraine episodes.
Spinal misalignments exert pressure on the surrounding nerves. This interferes with your nerves’ ability to transmit signals effectively. Chiropractic adjustments help restore the spine’s alignment, relieve pressure on the nerves and promote optimal nerve function.
Chiropractic adjustments can also alleviate nerve irritation caused by muscle tension or inflammation.
When muscles become tense or inflamed, they can compress or irritate nearby nerves. If nerve inflammation is a migraine trigger for you, chiropractic treatment could help.
By addressing the underlying muscular issues through adjustments and other therapies, a chiropractor for migraines helps alleviate the irritation on the nerves, allowing them to function properly.
Stress management used be a buzz word, but now it’s a topic your doctor asks you about every time you visit the office. You know the routine, especially if you’ve ever indicated a problem dealing with stress and anxiety.
Isn’t stress primarily an emotional health concern?
Stress and anxiety pack a powerful punch on the body and the brain. It’s not just about feeling tense. Stress can also cause physical pain.
It’s easy to see why stress is often a migraine trigger.
Chiropractic adjustments can help reduce physical and emotional symptoms caused by stress. It’s a win-win! Your body and your mind both benefit.
Chiropractors look at all areas of a patient’s health and lifestyle and create a treatment plan designed to balance the mind and body.
Improving and maintaining your overall health from the inside out is something we focus on, making chiropractic care one of the most popular holistic healthcare treatments.
A chiropractic migraine specialist wants you to be pain-free. Not just because we’re in the pain relief business, but because pain interferes with overall health and well-being.
Whether your chiropractor uses spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapies, or rehabilitative exercises, the end result could be a drastic reduction in pain and discomfort.
Another way we help patients deal with migraines is through preventative care and maintenance.
Through regular check-ups, we can identify potential problems early on and provide appropriate interventions or lifestyle recommendations. This can help prevent the progression of underlying conditions or the occurrence of new ones.
Partnering with your chiropractor for migraines empowers you to take an active role in your own health.
Preventative care and maintenance is a gift you can give yourself. Better overall health could mean fewer migraine attacks. It certainly should result in fewer illnesses and doctor visits.
The fields of traditional and complementary medicine are constantly evolving.
That means more research studies are being conducted with increasing evidence about the success of chiropractic treatment for migraine.
In one 17-month migraine study, researchers explored the benefits of chiropractic treatments compared to the usual medication-based approach. The findings were groundbreaking.
The participants experienced a noticeable decrease in the duration of their migraine headaches overall.
But here’s the exciting part: the group receiving chiropractic care saw their reduction in migraine duration last throughout the entire 12-month follow-up period!
Results from a 2019 meta-analysis of several clinical studies show that spinal adjustments may reduce both the number of migraine days and the intensity of the pain.
Despite the exciting results, these studies have limitations, such as sample size and treatment standardization.
Larger, more robust studies would provide a clearer picture and solidify the evidence base for spinal manipulation as a bona fide treatment for migraines.
Either way, it’s encouraging to see researchers exploring this field and uncovering new possibilities for effective migraine management.
For now, we have to consider these findings as preliminary, like a sneak peek of something great yet to come.
If you’re tired of the limitations of conventional migraine treatments, chiropractic care offers an excellent solution. You’ll love the benefits of a drug-free and non-invasive way to manage migraines.
Don’t let migraines keep you down. Seek help from a chiropractor for migraines and get your life back.
For over thirty years, the care team at Boulder Back Pain Clinic has helped patients in Colorado with a variety of health issues. Schedule an appointment with one of our leading chiropractors in Boulder today.
I've been seeing Dr. Cahn for over 3 years now and love that he is relaxed, genuine, and personal. He has helped resolve issues with my neck, low back, and hip. I go in for the treatment, but it's probably the great conversations we have that keep me coming back!
Dr. Guzik is awesome. He's knowledgeable, affable, and passionate about wellness. He has a natural, easygoing way with patients that will put you right at ease. I have only great things to say about this practice and Dr. Guzik!
Both Dr. Cahn and Dr. Guzik are highly knowledgeable and skilled in providing excellent care to their patients. They were instrumental in getting me through an injury to be able to compete competitively in triathlon this season. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing high level chiropractic care!
