Upper cervical doctors have been helping and dealing with people who suffer from migraines. A migraine chiropractic clinic near Morgantown is ready to help you find relief. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What are Migraines?
Migraines are neurological. In other words, migraines have to do with specific changes that happen within the brain. The results of these changes go hand in hand with neurological symptoms. Hence, they happen without warning.
Migraines may be preceded by what is called an aura. This occurs about an hour before the head pain actually starts. It displays as visual disturbances, such as sparkles, flashing lights, and in some cases, even vision loss.
Symptoms of migraines may include:
- Moderate to severe pain
- Pain that worsens with physical activity
- Sensitivity to certain smells and odors, bright lights, and loud noises
- Throbbing and pounding head pain often on one side of the head (or both sides)
- Nausea and even vomiting
- Difficulty with speech
- Pain behind one of your eyes
- Burning feeling in the face, shoulders, or arms
- Short-term weakness affecting one side of the body
About a day or two before a migraine hits you, you may feel:
- Depressed
- Cranky
- Fatigued
- Happy and energetic
- Nervous
- Restless
- No appetite at all
- Hungry or thirsty, craving certain types of food
To learn more about the connection between head and neck injuries and migraines, download our complimentary e-book by clicking the image below.
You might experience a migraine hangover, this happens after the headache is over. When this hits you, you will feel extremely tired and your muscles may feel sore. This might last for a day or so, even after your head pain subsides.
Some other types of headaches may cause terrible pain but migraines are completely different. No one completely understands why migraines occur. More studies are underway to try to find the complete truth about migraines. A common agreed theory is that changes in the neurotransmitter levels in the brain play a role in migraines.
What are Migraine Triggers?
Migraine triggers do not actually cause a migraine. However, they can play a crucial role in bringing them forth into existence. Here are some important migraine triggers to remember and try to avoid:
- Anxiety and stress
Stress is always a part of life. However, you may be able to reduce your stress to avoid triggering migraines. You can do this by using relaxation techniques, biofeedback methods, and deep breathing exercises.
- Lack of proper nutrition or sleep
To try to avoid migraines, try to keep track of your personal migraine triggers. Some have found that keeping a regular routine of food intake and enough sleep is very beneficial. Disturbances in your sleep patterns, or not drinking enough fluid, or skipping meals can all be avoidable triggers for migraines.
- Flashing lights
This can be blinking strobe lights, a rapidly flashing TV picture, or sunlight reflecting off of the waves in an ocean or lake. This can also be faulty lighting.
- Hormonal changes
Oftentimes, women suffer migraines during their menstrual cycle. The fluctuating changes associated with this particular period can be a trigger. It is crucial to take note that patterns differ from one woman to the other. In other words, what works for other women may not work well for you.
- Certain types of food
Studies have not been able to prove that specific foods actually trigger migraines. However, migraine sufferers themselves say some food do. Sufferers claim such things as chocolate, aged cheese, soy sauce, red wine, processed meats, MSG, and artificial sweeteners.
- Caffeine
This particular one can go either way. Meaning, too much or too little caffeine can induce a migraine. On the other hand, some people find caffeine to be very helpful for avoiding migraines. Again, this is something that completely depends on the individual.
- Tyramine
It is derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Tyramine causes the blood vessels to contract and expand, this leads to a migraine. Certain types of food contain tyramine, such as pickles, aged meats like soy sauce, pepperoni, and aged cheese.
Keep Track of Your Personal Triggers
Write your own migraine journal. It is a great way to keep track of your personal migraine triggers. When your migraine is over, write down everything you did on that day. Starting your list with a day before the head pain started. What did you eat, including the drinks? What are the weather conditions? What physical activities were done? How much stress were you under? Keeping track of these particular things after a few migraine attacks can help you understand patterns beginning to develop. This can certainly help you to identify your personal triggers and avoid them in the future. In time, you will hopefully get fewer headaches.
Relieving Migraines Through Proper Spinal Alignment
Upper cervical chiropractors, such as those here at a migraine chiropractic clinic near Morgantown, have enjoyed much success in caring for migraine sufferers. They make sure the spine is properly aligned.
It has been proven in many research studies that the C1 and C2 vertebrae are often the underlying cause of migraines. There was a study that observed at least a hundred patients who suffered from migraines and other headache types. There was one participant, a female figure skater, who experienced migraines for over 12 years following a concussion when she hit her head on the ice. She tried numerous medications over the 12 years after her accident with no success. She started looking for care from an upper cervical chiropractor. Within 3 months of care, her chronic migraines became lesser and went away.
There were many similar stories in this case study, which resulted in most of the patients finding their headaches eliminated completely after having upper cervical chiropractic care.
Get Morgantown Migraine Relief
Mountain State Wellness in Morgantown, West Virginia employs similar technique used in those case studies above. We use a gentle method that does not involve popping or cracking the bones of the spine to get positive results. This method helps the bones move back into position more naturally, leading to longer-lasting adjustments and fewer trips back to the office later down the road. Once realigned, the body begins to heal the damage already done, and migraines often become a problem no more. To schedule a free consultation with our office, call 304-244-1817 or accomplish our complimentary consultation form.
To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Lucas Watterson or Dr. Amy Watterson call our Morgantown office at 304-244-1817 You can also click the button below.
If you are outside of the local area you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.
