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The Importance of Headache Diagnosis

All good doctors know the importance of getting an accurate diagnosis of a patient’s problem. But why is this so important? It’s important because without knowing what is the disease or injury, the treatment cannot be directed to the actual problem.

Unfortunately, when it comes to headaches, many patients do not receive an accurate diagnosis. If a patient were to see a doctor with a pain in the head and the doctor were to conclude that you have a pain in your head (headache), this tells little about the actual problem. In headache patients, we’ve become very good at labeling problems-giving them a name. If the headache comes and goes we call it episodic. If it occurs suddenly we call it acute, and if it occurs over many years we say it is chronic. But are these labels really helpful?

The reality is everyday people show up in doctors offices, obtain cursory examinations and walk out with a prescription for their head pain. Not all doctors do this, of course, but with the time constraints of managed care and the insurance company oversight, a doctor’s visit is just not what it used to be. When was the last time you had a house call from a doctor? Of course, the worst case is when a patient acts as their own doctor, sees an advertisement for a pill and does the diagnosing himself or herself!

In chiropractic, we may also label your headache as tension-type, migraine or chronic, but a good chiropractor will not stop there. The label does not give much of an indication of what needs to be done, and more importantly we still do not know the CAUSE of the pain. Clinical experience and research over many decades has shown that many headaches are actually caused by injuries to the neck and spine. But if a doctor does not examine the neck, they may not discover these hidden injuries. Sometimes an astute doctor will take a history and it may be discovered you had a whiplash or other neck trauma, months or even years earlier. This is important information to get at the cause.

We take a comprehensive approach to headache patients at our clinic. A detailed history about the location, duration, and quality of pain is followed up by a thorough physical examination, especially of your spinal column. We may also order imaging tests such as x-rays to see the positions of the individual vertebrae in your neck.

The normal neck has a forward curve or arch, which keeps your head upright and directly above your shoulders. When this curve is lost, the patient’s head is thrust forward in the classic “bad posture” stance. Making sure your neck is both flexible, and in good postural alignment, is critical to maintaining good health.

Chiropractic Manipulation: A New Study Regarding Headaches

Headaches are a common complaint in patients presenting for professional care, including chiropractic management. Patients with headaches seek chiropractic care because they find manipulation or adjustments applied to the cervical spine and upper back region are highly effective in reducing the intensity, frequency and duration of the headache pain. This is because the cervical spine / neck, is often the origin of the headache as the three nerves in the upper neck (C1, 2 and 3) pass through the thick, overly taught neck muscles in route to the scalp / head. When the muscles of the neck are in spasm, the nerves get “pinched” or squeezed by the overly tight muscles resulting in headache pain. Each nerve runs to a different part of the head and therefore, pain may be described as “…radiating over the top of head (sometimes into the forehead and eyes),” or, into the head and over the ear, sometimes reaching the temple. Also, an area located in the back and side of the head is the area where the C1 nerve innervates, so pain may also be reported in that location. When more than one of the C1-3 nerves is pinched, the whole side to the top of the head may be involved.

In the October 2009 issue of The Spine Journal, Western States Chiropractic College, Center for Outcomes Studies, reported benefits are obtained with the utilization of spinal manipulation in the treatment of chronic cervicogenic headaches. The word “chronic” means at least 3 months of headache pain has been present. This new study compared 2 different doses of therapy using several outcome measures including the pain grade, the number of headaches in the last 4 weeks and the amount of medication utilized. Data was collected every 4 weeks for a 24 week period and patients were treated 1-2 times/week and separated into either an 8 or a 16 treatment session with half the group receiving either spinal manipulative therapy or a minimal light massage (LM) control group.

The results of the study revealed the spinal manipulation group obtained better results than the control group at all time intervals. There was a small benefit in the group that received the greater number of treatments with the mean number of cervicogenic headaches reduced by 50% in both pain intensity and headache frequency.

The importance of this study is significant as there are many side effects to medications frequently utilized in the treatment of headaches. Many patients prefer not taking medications for this reason and spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) offers a perfect remedy for these patients. Couple SMT with dietary management, lifestyle modifications, stress management, and a natural, vitamin/herbal anti-inflammatory (such as ginger, turmeric, boswellia) when needed, a natural, holistic approach to the management of chronic headaches is accomplished.

Headaches – How Does Chiropractic Work?

Headaches are a common complaint in patients presenting for professional care, including chiropractic management. Patients with headaches seek chiropractic care because they find manipulation or adjustments applied to the cervical spine and upper back region are highly effective in reducing the intensity, frequency and duration of the headache pain. This is because the cervical spine / neck, is often the origin of the headache as the three nerves in the upper neck (C1, 2 and 3) pass through the thick, overly taught neck muscles in route to the scalp / head. When the muscles of the neck are in spasm, the nerves get “pinched” or squeezed by the overly tight muscles resulting in headache pain. Each nerve runs to a different part of the head and therefore, pain may be described as “…radiating over the top of head (sometimes into the forehead and eyes),” or, into the head and over the ear, sometimes reaching the temple. Also, an area located in the back and side of the head is the area where the C1 nerve innervates, so pain may also be reported in that location. When more than one of the C1-3 nerves is pinched, the whole side to the top of the head may be involved.

In the October 2009 issue of The Spine Journal, Western States Chiropractic College, Center for Outcomes Studies, reported benefits are obtained with the utilization of spinal manipulation in the treatment of chronic cervicogenic headaches. The word “chronic” means at least 3 months of headache pain has been present. This new study compared 2 different doses of therapy using several outcome measures including the pain grade, the number of headaches in the last 4 weeks and the amount of medication utilized. Data was collected every 4 weeks for a 24 week period and patients were treated 1-2 times/week and separated into either an 8 or a 16 treatment session with half the group receiving either spinal manipulative therapy or a minimal light massage (LM) control group.

The results of the study revealed the spinal manipulation group obtained better results than the control group at all time intervals. There was a small benefit in the group that received the greater number of treatments with the mean number of cervicogenic headaches reduced by 50% in both pain intensity and headache frequency.

The importance of this study is significant as there are many side effects to medications frequently utilized in the treatment of headaches. Many patients prefer not taking medications for this reason and spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) offers a perfect remedy for these patients. Couple SMT with dietary management, lifestyle modifications, stress management, and a natural, vitamin/herbal anti-inflammatory (such as ginger, turmeric, boswellia) when needed, a natural, holistic approach to the management of chronic headaches is accomplished.

Side Effects of Chiropractic vs. Medications for Headaches

Have you ever stopped and wondered, “…which type of doctor should I go to for treatment of my headaches?” In order to make an informed decision, it is appropriate to look at the side effects each treatment option carries and then consider the pros and cons of each treatment.

It has been reported that 45 million Americans suffer from headaches, many on a daily basis. Though some just put up with the pain, others become totally disabled during the headache. Most people initially turn to an over the counter drug such as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of which there are 3 types: 1) salicylates, such as aspirin; 2) traditional NSAIDs, such as Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen); and, 3) COX-2 selective inhibitors, such as Celebrex.

According to the medical review board of About.com, complications of NSAID drugs include stomach irritation (gastritis, ulcer), bleeding tendencies, kidney failure, and liver dysfunction. Some NSAIDs (particularly indomethacin) can interfere with other medications used to control high blood pressure and cardiac failure and long term use of NSAIDs may actually hasten joint cartilage loss, leading to premature arthritis. Another over the counter commonly used drug is Tylenol (Acetaminophen) in which liver toxicity can be a potential side effect (particularly with long term use).

Here’s the kicker – only about 60% of patients respond to a 3 week trial of an NSAID, NSAIDs can mask signs and symptoms of infection, it cannot be predicted which NSAID will work best, and no single NSAID has been proven to be superior over others for pain relief. Moreover, estimates of death associated with NSAID (mostly gastrointestinal causes) range between 3200 on the low side to higher than 16,500 deaths per year in the United States. Another BIG concern is that low daily doses of aspirin, “…clearly have the potential to cause GI injury as 10mg of aspirin daily causes gastric ulcers.”

Others may turn to prescription medication for hopeful pain relief. One of the more frequently prescribed medications for headaches is amitriptyline (commonly known as Elavil, Endep, or Amitrol). This is actually an antidepressant but was found to work quite well for some headache sufferers. The potential side effects include blurred vision, change in sexual desire or ability, constipation or diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, headache (ironically), appetite loss, nausea, tiredness, trouble sleeping, tremors and weakness. Allergic reactions such as rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips or tongue, chest pain, rapid and/or irregular heart rate, confusion, delusions, suicidal thoughts or actions AND MORE are reported.

The pros and cons of chiropractic include a report on children under 3 years of age, where only one reaction for every 749 adjustments (manipulations) occurred (it was crying, NO serious side effects were reported). In adults, transient soreness may occur. Though stroke has been reported as a cause of headache, it was concluded that stroke “…is a very rare event…”, and that, “…we found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated chiropractic care compared to primary care.” Another convincing study reported that chiropractic was 57% more effective than drug therapy in reducing headache and migraine pain! They concluded – chiropractic first, drugs second and surgery last.