Unfortunately, it seems that anyone can have a migraine attack at any time. There are a number of aspects of a person’s life that can bring on migraines. Migraines are common among men and women—even children suffer from them. In fact, 5% of people experience their first migraine by age 15. This number increases with age so that 12% of people living in America are coping with migraines.

The disturbing thing about migraines is that no one knows why they actually occur. As far as doctors and researchers are concerned, they should not happen. Yet, they do, and it appears that they may be linked to certain external factors that act as triggers. For each person, these triggers are different, and knowing what the exact issue is can help one to avoid the triggers and decrease the frequency of migraines. The following is a list of common triggers.

• Stress: When a person experiences stress, the internal self-defense mechanism kicks in and releases chemicals into the brain that cause vascular changes.
• Food Allergies: In 30 percent of migraine sufferers a food allergy can be a trigger. These can include such things as hot dogs, lunch meat, aged cheeses, alcohol, pepperoni, and MSG.
• Caffeine: Too little or too much caffeine can bring about a migraine due to the fact that the blood vessels absorb caffeine causing a person to be sensitive to certain amounts.

Help for Migraine Sufferers

One area that has seen great long-term success is that of upper cervical chiropractic care. A connection has been noted between migraines and a misalignment of the upper neck vertebrae, particularly the C1 and C2. If these bones are misaligned, they put stress on the brainstem, potentially causing it to malfunction. This means that that communication to and from the body and brain is hindered. Also, blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow are negatively affected. By using a gentle technique, the bones of the neck can be encouraged to move back into their proper position. Once this is done, migraines may become a thing of the past.

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