Living with celiac disease comes with several challenges, ranging from unwanted bathroom trips to an increased risk for mortality. Some celiacs also encounter unexpected health concerns like worse and frequent migraine headaches. In fact, because of this, some celiacs frequently visit the practice of a local chiropractor for migraines. Are you among the thousands of celiacs who share the same struggle?

Celiac Disease and Migraine Headaches: How Are They Related

When you think about migraines, you immediately associate it crippling symptoms like intense headaches that affect one side of the head. Well-known migraineurs like Serena Williams and Chloe Kardashian barely talk about symptoms besides stress, fatigue, anxiety, chronic headaches, nausea, vertigo, and sensory sensitivity. 

Similarly, it’s uncommon to hear people with celiac disease complain about symptoms other than an upset stomach, bloating, constipation, and loose bowel movement. If you noticed, popular celiacs like Zooey Deschanel, Billy Bob Thornton, and Victoria Beckham mostly complain that they can’t process food products containing gluten. But none of them say that they experience migraine headaches. 

So, is it be possible that your migraines don’t have any connection with your celiac disease? Is it all just coincidental? While you rarely hear people talk about it, findings from the latest research suggest that migraine and celiac disease happens together for a reason. 

In a 2019 study, around 32.5 percent of people diagnosed with celiac disease experience migraine with aura, while approximately 15 percent have migraine with aura. Many experts attribute this trend to the gut-brain connection, a physiological process that emphasizes the role of the brain and gut in maintaining proper health. 

Meanwhile, other studies theorize that adult celiacs who also experience worse bouts of headaches and migraines appear to have increased white matter lesions in the brain.

A Closer Look at White Matter, Celiac Disease and Migraine Headaches 

Several studies associate white matter growth with celiac disease and migraines. 

For example, a survey with 500,000 participants showed that celiac disease could cause white matter changes in the brain. The researchers further extended that this gut disease can also worsen mental health problems and impair cognition. 

In a separate study, neuroimaging scans reveal that migraineurs have up to 200 to 400 percent increase in white matter growth compared to healthy individuals. 

But what exactly is the significance of white matter changes? How can it affect the body? Here are some facts we rounded up from several studies and resources:

• Disturbed balance in your gut microbiome can result in white matter architecture changes.
• Other health problems such as poor cerebral blood and CSF drainage, anxiety and depression, and head and neck trauma can worsen white matter lesions.
• White matter hyperintensities can increase risks for brain and nervous system problems.
• Drastic changes to your brain’s white matter can lead to increased pain sensitivity.
• Increased white matter in the brain can also affect your balance, speech, and motor abilities 

Coping with Migraines and Celiac Disease Symptoms

Indeed, living with celiac disease comes with plenty of hurdles. Things can even worsen if you have accompanying symptoms like chronic and recurring migraine episodes. Thankfully, research and modern-day healthcare and medical innovations have paved the way for better patient care for patients who suffer from migraines and celiac disease.  Here are a few things you might want to try to address your health complaints:  

Switching to a gluten-free life 

You might want to avoid gluten-rich food products like wheat, couscous, white bread, pasta, white flour, commercial chocolate drinks, and canned soup. Such products would only lead to worse flare-ups and unwanted celiac disease symptoms.  

Avoid headache triggers 

Because the brain and gut share a strong link, you should also skip eating food products that trigger your migraine episodes. Some examples of these might include processed meat, caffeine, and aged cheese. 

Visiting a chiropractor for migraines 

Upper cervical chiropractic care is an excellent remedy for many health complaints ranging from migraines to celiac disease. It aims to provide holistic healing by ensuring smooth signal transmission in the brain and maintaining proper cerebral fluid drainage.

A Chiropractor for Migraines Can Also Help Celiacs!

The gut and brain work hand in hand to facilitate many physiological processes. Naturally, when one of them fails to function as it should, the other also suffer the impact. If you are a celiac who experiences chronic migraine attacks, it might help to seek a professional like a chiropractor for migraines.

After all, your symptoms, such as an upset stomach and a nasty headache that doesn’t go away for hours, might be your body’s way of warning you about vertebral subluxation. 

According to studies, cervical misalignment can contribute to the onset of celiac diseases because it triggers a cascade of events, including:

• Shifting of your head’s position
• Twisting of your neck, shoulder, arm, and leg muscles
• Development of brainstem lesion
• Compression or irritation of nearby nerves and blood vessels
• Slower drainage of cerebral fluids like CSF and blood

We recommend getting your cervical spine examined as soon as possible. This way, you can gauge how far your neck bones shifted and how long it might take for a chiropractor for migraines and celiac disease to improve your spinal posture.  

Consult with a nearby upper cervical doctor today and see how neck bone adjustments might help you with celiac disease. It might provide you with a better chance at coping with your symptoms and living comfortably and pain-free.

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