Migraines getting you down?

So this is my first blog post under my married name Dr Parry! (Doctor of Chiropractic). We have many patients that come into the clinic with lower back pain and only during the consultation they tell me they have had debilitating migraines for years.

I often say to them, "Do you know that there is a lot of evidence which shows that Chiropractic can reduce the frequency of migraines?" And end up treating both their migraines and lower back pain to great effect. They are often incredibly happy and more pleased that their migranes are much less frequent; forgetting that their lower back pain is what they came in for!

There are two main types of migranes:

Common Migraine:

This accounts in 80-85% of headaches. It tends to be a one sided headache, which is often in females, often starting as a teenager. There can often be nausea or vomiting. They don't really understand migraines fully yet. However, they do know that there is a cerebral blow flow change including pulsation. They also know it can be related to tight neck and shoulders, changes in hormones (just before periods) and some foods can initiate one (cheese, wine, nitrate containing foods).

Classic Migraine:

The classic migraine tends to happen in 10-15% of migranes and tends to have 30 minutes of flashing lights and possibly a blind spot before the headache happens, which can last 1 hour to 3 days. There tends to be sensitivity to light and sound and nausea and vomiting. Resting in a cool dark place tends to help relieve the symptoms.

With Chiropractic care, research has shown that we cannot get rid of migraines, but we can reduce the frequency, quite often, quite a great deal. This is usually by treating the neck and shoulders. We would definately recommend a trial treatment course and hope you will be very pleasantly surprised!