Daily Headaches? Does this sound like you? You take two over the counter pain relievers every single morning before you head in to work and before the day’s end you’re popping two more. When you come home there is a house to clean, dinner to make, homework to help with and a family to take care of. It seems like your day never ends and all of it just makes your head pound even harder. This repeats itself day in, and day out.
It’s safe to say that just about everyone knows what it’s like to have a headache of some kind, whether it’s pounding in the temples, pressure behind the eyes and sinuses, or tension at the base of the skull. What most people don’t realize though is what the root cause of these painful symptoms is and how to get rid of them for good.
Headaches can be caused by many factors but the most common type of headache by far is brought on by a chronic state of tension in the muscles of the neck and skull. Throughout our daily lives we put stress on our bodies, problems like headaches (and yes, low back pain too) arise when we find ourselves in a repetitive use or improper posture situation such as hunching over a keyboard, squeezing a phone between our shoulder and ear, or even during our daily commute.
For every inch forward your head is from its normal upright position there is a whopping extra 10+ pounds of load that’s being placed on the spine! The muscles of the neck and back are able to cope with this increased weight on a short term basis, but after a while we begin to notice stiffening and soreness causing us to roll our shoulders or rub our necks. As this cycle repeats over time, the large muscles begin to suffer from the repetitive micro trauma and fatigue more easily, forcing the smaller, deeper muscles of the individual vertebral joints to take over some of the load to support the weight of the head. Since this was not the job they were designed for, the increased work load is transferred into the joints of the neck and upper back and other surrounding tissues, resulting in pain and eventual degenerative changes in the neck, which we loosely term degenerative joint disease, or DJD.
Despite how bad all this may sound, we have good news for you! By breaking the cycle these degenerative changes and painful symptoms like headaches can be reduced and even reversed. Chiropractic manipulation of the joints of the neck and upper back can reduce tension on the muscles and surrounding tissues as well as “reset” the receptors in the muscles and tissues allowing them to relax and reduce the effects and frequency of tension type headaches. An adjustment is only one tool available to our chiropractors to help alleviate and break the cycle of tension headaches – proper posture habits and ergonomics in the workplace and throughout the day are what get us into a tension headache cycle in the first place, and your chiropractor knows how to help break free with stretches, exercises, and tips on how to properly position yourself at work and throughout daily tasks so that you can maintain a symptom free lifestyle!
At Adamson Chiropractic we care, we listen, and most importantly we get results. Our team will make your recovery and comfort our top priority as we work with you towards long term results. To start your journey to a happier, healthier, pain-free you, call our office today 360-923-1717.