Headaches can take a toll on your workday, exercise routine, social calendar, and more. When they strike, they often bring stress, tension, and distraction. For those who get headaches regularly, finding pain management is a top priority. 

Chiropractic solutions can help reduce the likelihood, frequency, and severity of headaches by ensuring the body is properly aligned, functioning, and supportive, as it reduces mental stress and induces relaxation. 

This article discusses the two most common kinds of headaches, migraines and tension headaches, and how the right chiropractic treatment plan can help you find relief safely without heading to the medicine cabinet. 

Migraine Headaches 

Migraines affect millions of people and can be aggressive and debilitating, making your everyday activities impossible. They range in pain levels, but a migraine is difficult to navigate even when minor because you never know when it will get worse. 

Common migraine symptoms include:

• Sensitivity to light, sound, or smell

• Disturbed vision- flashing light or zigzag lines (referred to as aura)

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Throbbing pain on one side of the head

• Moderate to severe pain

Common migraine triggers:

• Sensory overload- light, sound, or smell 

• Mental stress

• Hormonal changes

• Weather changes

• Specific foods and drinks

• Alcohol

• Lack of sleep

• Dehydration

These triggers may sometimes be unavoidable, and even if you avoid them, you can still experience a migraine. 

Natural at-home remedies that can help reduce migraine symptoms:

• Relax in a dark, quiet room

• Remove yourself from a stressful situation or environment

• Massage the head, temples, neck, and shoulders

• Rest or sleep

• Drink water

• Eat a healthy snack

Although the exact cause of a migraine is unknown, many professionals attribute them to a change in blood flow to the brain or changes in estrogen or serotonin levels.

Tension Headaches 

Tension headaches affect as many as two out of three adults in America at some point. While they can be chronic (recurring regularly), these headaches usually come and go for many reasons. 

Common tension headache symptoms include:

• Builds up as time goes on

• Feels like a tight band around the head, affecting both sides

• Dull to moderate pain

• Radiating pain from the head into the neck

• Tenderness in the head, neck, and shoulders

Common tension headache triggers:

• Lack of sleep

• Fatigue

• Hunger

• Poor posture

• Mental stress

• Dehydration 

• Drinking too much alcohol 

• Eye strain

Like with migraines, you may not be able to avoid these triggers, and if you do, that’s not a guarantee you won’t ever get a tension headache. 

Natural at-home remedies that can help reduce migraine symptoms:

• Rest, nap, and relax

• Remove yourself from a stressful situation or environment

• Get a massage

• Apply heat to the neck to relieve tense muscles

• Apply a cold cloth to the forehead

• Drink water

• Eat a healthy snack

Tension headaches can occur when the neck and scalp muscles become tense and contracted. Chiropractic treatments can help improve movement of the spine, heal and restore muscle and soft tissue imbalances, re-establish proper posture, and thereby reduce mental stress and anxiety.

Chiropractic to Help Prevent Migraines and Tension Headaches in Langley

Chiropractic services are safe, natural, and non-invasive, delivering reliable solutions that treat headaches by determining what’s causing them. Working with Willowbrook Chiropractic gives you a comprehensive analysis of the body and how it functions. Once we find the injury related to your headaches, we’ll design a unique wellness plan around your needs. 

We offer several chiropractic solutions for headaches include:

• Manual chiropractic adjustments to the spine or affected joint

• Instrument-assisted adjustments to affected areas

• Soft tissue therapies

• Active Release Technique (ART)

• Corrective exercises and stretches

• Massage

Our doctors and therapists work together to provide the ultimate in care and efficiency. We know you want to live comfortably and actively, and it’s our goal to get you there as quickly and safely as possible.

Don’t let your headaches stand between you and your lifestyle; book an appointment with our headache chiropractor in Langley today.