What kind of headaches do you get? Do you get the ones that start at the top of your head and move downwards? Do you get the ones that feel like someone has placed an iron band around your temples and is relentlessly tightening it? Do you get the ones that feel like you're being repeatedly hit at the back of your skull with a hammer? Whatever your headache pain feels like, your first thought is probably to reach for medication, either prescription or over-the-counter. Calling your chiropractor may be your last thought about how to treat headaches, but research is showing that this may be your best option. This is because chiropractors are specialists in the rehabilitation of the nervous system. The pain that we experience in a headache is only the result of a disease process. Using many different techniques, our chiropractors in West Hartford, CT, can retrain the body to address the underlying cause of the headache.

The Cost of Recurring Headache Pain

Headaches are often disregarded as a minor problem. On the contrary, headaches can affect everyday life and be debilitating. People with recurrent headaches miss work more often, use more healthcare resources, and work at lower levels of efficiency while in pain. Headaches are the most common usage of over-the-counter pain medication. All these effects have financial costs. One study estimated that $5.6 billion to $17.2 billion in worker productivity is lost every year simply to one type of headache or migraine. Another report estimated that 156 million full-time equivalent workdays are lost each year because of headaches.

What Causes Headaches?

The is no common mechanism that causes pain in all headaches; the pain is generated differently in different types of headaches. Many people think of a headache as a pain in the brain itself. The brain, however, does not directly feel pain. Even directly stimulating the brain's surface during surgery won't cause pain. The pain instead largely comes from other places. Many headaches, including stress headaches, originate in the neck, shoulders, or upper back. Muscle tension and skeletal misalignment lead to nervous system irritation, which can cause headaches. Our chiropractors at West Hartford Chiropractic will help get to the root cause of your headache. 

Conventional Treatment for Headaches

Conventional treatment options for headaches are almost entirely focused on medications. Non-prescription medications like aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol™) are popular options, as are caffeine and herbal preparations. Medication has risks and side effects, of course. Prescriptions have even greater risks and side effects. Even if medications work, they can cause rebound headaches; this is when after a medication's effects wear off, the headache returns. Rebound headaches occur because they generally don't treat the underlying cause of the headache, they only treat the pain. Seeking a Chiropractic specialist for headache treatment tends to have more long-term health benefits than conventional treatments, which could have negative long-term risks. 

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Of all alternative treatments to medication, chiropractic care is the most popular. Studies show, 15% of people who have tried complementary and alternative medical treatments have used chiropractic treatments. These chiropractic care treatments account for 18 to 38 million manipulations performed annually. Chiropractic manipulation has demonstrated the ability to reduce the frequency and pain of stress headaches, migraines, tension-type, and Cervicogenic headaches. Together, these headaches make up 90% of recurring headaches.

Chiropractic Care for Headaches

Our Chiropractors in West Hartford, CT, have a wide variety of tools available to treat pain in general and headaches in particular. These tools include Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) or Cold Laser Therapy, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Craniosacral Therapy (CST), Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) gentle adjustments, Spinal Manipulation Therapy (SMT), and Activator Method. If you are in West Hartford, CT, and looking for headache treatment near you, our chiropractors are here to help. Our chiropractic specialists offer chiropractic care for long-term headache pain relief.

Schedule an Appointment with our Chiropractor in West Hartford, CT

Our chiropractors at West Hartford Chiropractic can treat many different sources of headache pain, without resorting to medications or other invasive procedures. Our chiropractic services help address and treat multiple health issues, and recurring headaches, and help to avoid invasive medicine. If you have recurring headaches, call our chiropractor in West Hartford, CT, at (860) 232-5556.