Want to Get Rid of Your Headaches?

What is a headache?

Headaches are a symptom of referred pain reaching the surface of the head from deeper structures in the body.  The pain can originate from inside your head or just as likely come from somewhere else in your body.  The brain itself is virtually insensitive to pain, but rather it is the stretching of the arteries, veins, and connective tissue in and around the brain that is most likely the cause of the pain.

Types of Headaches

There are many types of headaches, but they all generally fall under 3 different categories: chemical, emotional and mechanical.  The chemical oriented headache will occur when you have a reaction to something toxic or foreign to your body which you may have inhaled, eaten, or drank.  Emotional type headaches can occur when you are subjected to mentally or emotionally charged situations which can cause a change in your blood pressure, heart rate, or other physical functions of the body.  This is what the term “psychosomatic” means, “to affect bodily functions through mental or emotional disturbances.”  Mechanical type headaches will occur because of physical trauma, chronic postural overload, changes in temperature, or physical tension in the musculo-skeletal system.

How to determine the type of headache and what you can do about it

Like any good detective, you (or your doctor) will want to ask yourself a series of questions that will enable you to narrow in on the type of headache you have, and then determine what the best strategy is to combat it.

1. When and how did the headache first begin?
2. How long does the headache last?
3. When does the headache occur (time or activity)?
4. Is there a pattern with the headaches?
5. How long does the headache last?
6. Are there symptoms that signal the onset of the headache?
7. Where is the headache located, and does it change?
8. What is the quality/severity of the pain?
9. Are there any symptoms that accompany the headache?
10. Is there a family history of headaches?
11. Are you presently taking any medications?
12. Are you experiencing any other health problems at this time?
13. What factors increase or decrease the pain?

Write out the answers to these questions so you can better establish a profile of your headache.  You might also want to keep a diary or log each day, noting whether you had a headache that day, the symptoms, the type and intensity of the pain, how long it lasted, and what you did to relieve it.  This will give you a better chance of discovering the source of your headache and how best to handle it.

Approaches for treating headaches

The most common choice for getting rid of headache pain is to take a pain relieving medication.  You know them as aspirin, ibuprofen, Tylenol and the like.  Each one addresses the pain a little differently due to their chemical makeup. The greater challenge, after the initial pain is handled, is to develop everyday strategies that will prevent the onset of future headaches.  These approaches include changes in your diet, and particularly dealing with those foods and substances which are a direct cause of your headache.  This includes alcohol, tobacco, some types of cheeses, dairy products, wheat products, pickled or smoked foods, sodas, cured meats (hot dogs, salami, etc.), refined sugar, and chocolate.  This would potentially influence any chemical based headaches.

For headaches of the mechanical and emotional based kind, the use of relaxation techniques such as meditation, biofeedback and massage can often help in reducing the frequency and intensity of headaches.  Using chiropractic care to realign the vertebrae (spinal bones) or the cranial bones is also proving to help reduce the onset and intensity of headaches.  Exercise, stretching, ice and heat have been shown to assist in reducing some types of headaches, depending upon their origin.

It should be noted that chiropractors have been helping people get rid of their headaches for years.  They first do a medical history and physical exam to determine the probable cause of your headaches.  Additional tests might include Xrays, lab tests, food questionnaires, orthopedic and neurological testing, and a postural evaluation.  Once a diagnosis has been determined, then a course of action will be recommended.  This includes lifestyle modifications, physical therapy, spinal adjustments, stretching and strengthening exercises.

If you have tried everything and still have headaches, consider seeing a chiropractor.  Getting yourself realigned and balanced might just do you a world of good.