How Chiropractic Care Can Help Headache Sufferers

A Drug-free Way to Ease Pain Associated with Chronic Headaches

While many people associate chiropractic care as a treatment for bad backs, there is growing documentation that chiropractic is also effective in the treatment of cervicogenic headaches, migraines and cluster headaches. In fact, the American Chiropractic Association reports that 14 percent of the public who see chiropractors presently go for headaches.

However, much of the general public continues to use the traditional medical practitioner route for headache treatment, with little success. The problem, says Dr. Robitaille, rests in the six misconceptions about headache relief. They are listed below, followed by his explanation:

1. Over-The-Counter Medication Treat The Cause Of Your Headache.
"Drugs only numb the pain. If these drugs treated the real cause, your headaches would go away permanently. None of us were born with too few Advil in our blood. A lack of drugs is not the cause."

2. Headache Medication Can't Harm You.
"On the contrary, drugs can cause side effects that can be far worse than the headache pain you're trying to relieve."

3. Stress Causes Headaches.
"Although stress is a part of life, it is not the cause of headaches. Rather, it's how your body adapts to stress that affects your health. Chiropractic care can provide ways to help you increase your body's ability to adapt to stress of any kind."

4. Headaches Go Away On Their Own.
"Without treating the cause, or root of the problem, they won't."

5. All Doctors Know How To Treat Headaches.
"If this were true, no one would suffer from headaches. Chiropractors offer natural alternatives that do not involve drugs or invasive treatments."

6. Your Problem Is Always Where Your Pain Is.
"In fact, not all headaches originate in the head. For instance, a person who suffered a neck injury at some point in their life, whether from a car accident, playing sports, or a fall as a child, could suffer head pain later on. These are called cervicogenic headaches because they result from tension of the neck and head muscles."