Headaches and Migraines

Tension headaches are very common, and we all suffer from them from time to time. Although they’re considered rather general, their severity and amount of pain felt varies dramatically from person to person. Many people choose to manage tension headache with over the counter pain relief medicine from the pharmacist, which can be ideal for people who suffer from mild headaches that only last for a few hours. However, this isn’t the case for tension headache sufferers who have to deal with excruciating headaches that can last for hours, or even days.

A Cervicogenic Headache is a term used to describe a headache which originates in the neck. It is one of the most common forms of headache and arises from certain neck movements, prolonged incorrect postures. At such times, the joints, muscles, ligaments and nerves in the neck are placed under pressure from the stretching or compressional force. With this type of headache, patients usually experience a gradual onset of neck pain and headache during the causative activity.

If you are experiencing cervicogenic headaches then please contact our chiropractic clinic and we can help you to exercise out your pains and work with you on a training programme to keep the headaches at bay!

It is estimated that about half the adults in the UK experience tension-type headaches once or twice a month, and about 1 in 3 get them up to 15 times a month.

About 2 or 3 in every 100 adults experience tension-type headaches more than 15 times a month for at least three months in a row. This is known as having chronic tension-type headaches.
With this in mind, managing pain with pain relief drugs is not a permanent solution to the problem. This is why chiropractic treatment for tension headaches is a great approach to reducing, or even eliminating, tension headaches permanently.

There can be a whole host of reasons why tension headaches occur, but the University of Maryland have claimed that the following comprehensive (yet not exhaustive) list could be perceived as triggers:

• Stress
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Holding your head in one position for a long time (like using a computer)
• Sleeping in an awkward position or in a cold room
• Eye strain
• Fatigue
• Overexertion
• Skipping meals
• Head or neck injury, even years after the injury
• Clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth (bruxism)
• Medications, including some headache medications (leading to rebound headaches)
• Arthritis

If you believe that you’re suffering from one or a multiple of the above and want to know how Bristol Chiropractic Clinic can help alleviate your pain, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Recent studies have discovered that there are connections between muscle tension in the base of the neck and tension headaches. Other factors could include misalignments of the spinal vertebrae in the neck that was placing pressure on the spinal nerves.

Our experienced and highly qualified chiropractors can help remove and release pressure on the nerves by spinal misalignments to ease tension headaches. They can also reduce tension in the muscles at the base of the neck to reduce nerve pressure.