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Headaches: Don't Just
Live With Them by Dr. Rick Morris
Sherri, a 38-year-old stay at home
mom, had severe headaches her entire life. She had to endure
them four or more times per week and most made her head feel
as if it "was going to blow off" her shoulders. It
stressed everything in her life, even taking care of the daily
needs of her child.
Over the last 30 years, she had
seen countless doctors, yet they found "nothing wrong."
She had been in the hospital, tried several treatments and was
even told that she might have to "just live with it."
She had never been to a chiropractor
before and was "a bit nervous," but was dragged into
our office by her friend who assured her that she wouldn't be
hurt. Nearly a year after she started treatment she wrote us
a letter saying "After my second adjustment, I was able
to turn my head (instead of turning my entire body). It was amazing,
it really worked." "I haven't had a severe headache
in 7 or 8 months."
What went wrongnot just with her
body, but also with our healthcare system? Why was she given
so many ineffective and even dangerous treatments? In effect,
she was told that everything possible had been tried. Why is
a less effective and more dangerous treatment recommended in
place of one that is safer and more effective especially when
many medical journals and research organization like Rand Corporation
have reported this?
The answer may lie in the numbers.
The International Headache Society's (IHS) classified 129 different
categories of headaches. Further compounding the problem, there
are over 20 different specialists that treat this condition.
Each specialty knows their approach to treatment, but if your
type of headache falls outside of their scope, it is often ignored
or even belittled. Unfortunately it leaves the headache sufferer
to search for his own answers, often in defiance of their primary
care doctor. Many headache sufferers know just what I'm talking
about.
If you fall off your bike, hit your
head, and start vomiting, we all know to go immediately to an
E.R. If you have a headache that started with a fever, altered
consciousness and a rash--then your best choice is probably your
internist. But, if your headaches are not associated with a fever,
a direct head trauma or a loss of consciousness--your doctor
of choice should be a Chiropractor.
The leading medical authoritative
body on headaches, the IHS, tells us that the leading causes
of headaches are "Tension-type" and Cervicogenic. These
types of headaches both arise from the muscles, nerves, ligaments
and bones in the neck.
There is not another specialist
who is as prepared to treat headaches that arise from the neck
as is a Chiropractor. In fact, many of the other types of headaches,
including migraines, can be triggered by the structures in the
neck and are helped as well.
The neck is the most common origin
of headaches and here's why:
1. The
upper two nerves leaving the neck refer pain to the back of the
skull and top of the head.
2. "Trigger Points" or knots in spasmed neck
muscles refer to the top of the head and face.
3. A newly discovered bridge of tissue connects the meninges
(a covering surrounding the brain) to the upper neck muscles.
The meninges can be stretched when the neck is misaligned or
in spasm and create a terrible headache.
The only treatment for these types
of headaches is to correct the neck problem. No pill or injection
will ever fix this problem. In fact the medicine often treats
the symptom but erodes your stomach, and can lead to kidney and
liver damage with prolonged use. Rebound headaches can occur
from as little as 3 over the counter headache pills per week.
Then it's really hard to get to the bottom of the problem. Unfortunately,
medical physicians are not trained in treating these types of
headaches since neither medicine nor surgery is recommended.
I'm not suggesting
that Chiropractic care is the best choice for all headaches-it
is not! In fact these are the "red flags" that
signal that a medical specialist, especially a neurologist, is
your first choice:
1. A
headache that accompanies generalized illness, fever, nausea
or vomiting.
2. An abrupt onset of a "new type" of severe
headache especially if it awakens you at night.
3. A headache accompanied by alterations in speech, coordination
or intellectual function.
4. A headache that coincides with weakness or numbness
to an extremity or side of your body.
Triggers such as diet, allergies,
chemical sensitivities, drug and medication usage have to be
assessed, as well, to completely rid yourself of most chronic
headaches. A good Chiropractor can correct the spinal faultsa
better one will help you find the aggravating triggers.
Some headaches are a combination
of genetic factors, hormonal imbalances and structural faults
such as Migraines and Cluster headaches and may require a combination
of doctors working together to achieve a satisfactory result.
As always, rest assured that if other specialists would be beneficial
to your case, we will bring them in. But, please don't ignore
the structural faults that may be the real cause and are often
ignored by medical practitioners.
As always, share this information
with those you know who have headaches and feel free to talk
with us about your headaches.
About The Author
Dr. Rick Morris is the founder of
the The Morris Spinal Stenosis and Disc Center in Santa Monica,
Ca. You can read more of his health articles or contact him at
his website, http://wevegotyourback.org
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