Headaches and migraines: A Pain in the Neck

In this edition of Back 2 Health Tips we will discuss headaches. Chronic headaches are a major detriment in the lives of many Americans. Have you ever had to call out of work or school, miss a day out with friends or family, or ever just felt like not leaving the house due to a headache or migraine? A bad headaches can ruin a good day, or make a bad day even worse.

Migraines and headaches can be attributed to many different causes such as head injury, stress, or over stimulation from the environment. With these types of headaches, it is important to find the “trigger”. Dehydration is an all-too-common culprit. So, drinking more water on a consistent basis may help. Identifying foods that might be causing your headache can be difficult. Start a food journal and see if certain foods or drinks might be triggering headaches and work on eliminating them from your diet. Some common triggers are red wine, chocolate or processed meats. But those are certainly not all possible triggers.

If drinking more water and eliminating dietary triggers fail to reduce the severity or frequency of the headaches medical intervention may be necessary. The medical professionals at Back 2 Health have non-prescription alternatives to effectively treat headaches. It beats taking pain pills and going to sleep every time a headache creeps up.

Many patients are surprised to hear, however, that headaches can also have musculoskeletal origins. That means your headaches could be coming from tight or injured muscles in the neck and upper shoulder region. We call this a cervicogenic headache. Tiny muscles in the neck and shoulders can cause major pain in the neck, severe headaches and even trigger migraines. Has a neck massage ever made a headache feel better? This is a temporary way to relax and relieve injured muscle tissue. The Back 2 Health provider team will target the root cause of cervicogenic headaches, and can offer a more permanent solutions to chronic headaches and migraines.

You can usually get an evaluation by a one of our dedicated healthcare professionals in less than 48 hours. If you or a loved one suffer from frequent headaches, schedule an appointment to discuss the ways the Back 2 Health team can help you!