It would have been a fantastic day. However, out of the blue, you experience dull pain on one side of your head. You try to ignore it but soon realize that it’s too much to bear. Minutes later, you feel nauseated, and it seems the lights you see are too bright for the eyes.
That’s just one of the many scenarios that people who frequently suffer from migraines go through. Some complain of experiencing both migraine and neck pain. Others have severe bouts of pain coupled with uncontrolled vomiting and loss of consciousness, so they get rushed to the ER.
While migraine can be debilitating, it’s not usually life-threatening. You can manage your condition through self-care techniques, such as keeping a diary and upper cervical bone realignment. To help you succeed in managing migraine attacks, check out the short guide below.
Many patients who suffer from migraine and neck pain believe that drinking medication is the only way to find relief. However, in truth, there are natural methods to relieve migraines. Instead of depending on NSAIDs, it’s good practice to keep track of your migraine attacks. You can do this by creating a journal that contains essential details, such as:
By getting to know more about your migraines, you can provide better information when consulting with your doctor. It also allows you to determine what sort of changes you need to prevent triggering an attack.
Migraine has a long list of triggers, including sensory overload, hormonal changes, stress, and weather or temperature fluctuations. Other factors such as hunger, sleep deprivation, drug abuse/misuse, and excessive caffeine intake can also serve as migraine triggers.
These triggers aren’t exactly easy to avoid, especially if you have a busy lifestyle or if you work for long hours every day. The best way you can do to help yourself is to make a few lifestyle adjustments:
Aim to develop a good sleeping habit each day. You can do this by sleeping and waking up at the same time every single day and making sure you have at least seven hours of rest time. If you have sleeping difficulties, try to identify triggers in your room. For example, you can replace the lighting fixtures or keep your mobile devices away from you before going to bed.
Stress can trigger a plethora of health concerns. Hence, as much as possible, you should learn a few stress management practices. For starters, you should know what’s causing your stress. It will then help if you practice avoiding or altering these triggers until you can adapt and accept the situation.
You’d be surprised by how a simple change to your usual diet can help you maintain a healthier lifestyle. Make sure to include food items rich in vitamins and minerals in your daily meals. Also, as much as possible, you should lessen or caffeine intake and ensure that you never skip a meal.
Many pain relief medications contain ingredients that can worsen a headache. Be sure to lead the label of your medicine and check its side effect. If you notice that your migraine attacks worsen or increase in frequency even if you undergo medication, it may be a sign that you should skip it altogether.
Besides avoiding your migraine triggers, it’s equally important to know its root cause. This way, you can find relief that would last for a long time. Take note that the triggers listed above aren’t the actual causes of migraine. These factors simply increase the frequency of the attacks.
Studies conducted over the years pinpoint intracranial pressure, brainstem problems, restricted cerebral blood flow, and other central nervous system issues as the root causes of migraine. Interestingly, all of these issues are proven affected by neck bone misalignment. This is why migraine and neck pain often occur together. Two upper cervical bones, namely the axis and atlas, usually get misaligned during an accident or sudden neck movement. The changes in the two cervical bones' normal position impede blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow and put immense pressure on the brainstem.
To fix the problem, patients often go to upper cervical chiropractors. Through upper cervical doctors' help, patients like you can ascertain the severity of your health concern. Upper cervical chiropractic care focuses on checking the bone misalignments and identifying possible nerve interference. Then, using careful and gentle adjustments, your spinal column relaxes and can start healing on its own. It’s a gradual process that aims to provide you with long-term benefits.
Have you been suffering from severe bouts of migraine and neck pain? You can get in touch with a local chiropractic professional near you. Find out the unique and effective approach used by chiropractors to help patients enjoy lesser migraine symptoms.
If you have a history of neck or head injury or if you have been experiencing migraines and neck pains for a long time, upper cervical chiropractic care can help you. Search for a local upper cervical doctor in your city today and experience better relief for your condition!
to schedule a consultation today.
The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
