Headaches
Do you suffer from ongoing headaches and haven’t found a solution? Do you want a more natural remedy than over-the-counter medications or prescription drugs? We can help.
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Headaches tend to creep up on us, often hampering or altogether ending the activity we are in the process of doing.
Most people will reach for a pain reliever, and a chiropractor isn’t looking to replace that “grab-and-go" solution but rather to make adjustments during non-headache times that support less frequent and less painful headaches.
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A headache is often a sign of a bigger problem, and chiropractic care seeks to discover that problem in order to make changes that address the root cause.
What Causes Headaches?
According to WebMD, there are over 150 types of headaches, each triggered differently, and they can trigger different people in different ways.
For example, one person may get a headache when an allergy is triggered while another doesn’t. Or, one person may get headaches when stressed, while another gets neck pain.
Overall, our goal is to discover the cause of the headache and begin treating that.
Headaches can be triggered by:
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Tension / Stress
Headaches can come on when we are stressed or experiencing tension from emotionally charged changes in our environment. This can be a rough day at work, relationship troubles, or even lifting something too heavy. Stress can also impact diet, sleep, and movement, creating even more tension and pain.
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Sickness
When we are sick, we experience inflammation. Our body works hard to fight the infection, but while our bodies are healing, we may get headaches until the inflammation subsides. This is particularly true in sinus infections, sore throats, and coughing.
Environmental Stressors
Perfumes, pet dander, smog, all of these environmental stressors can trigger headaches as our body sees them as toxins. Sometimes weather changes can also create headaches. Chiropractic, as well as acupuncture, can help reduce and relieve allergy attacks and the resulting headaches.
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Hormonal Changes
Changes in your hormones, such as those experienced in puberty, pregnancy, PMS, thyroid, and menopause, can trigger headaches in some women. Because chiropractic care addresses the whole body, adjustments can be made that help you have fewer symptoms. Additionally, acupuncture or dry needling can also help this process.
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TMJ
Grinding your teeth and TMJ Disorder are both significant causes of headache. When the jaw is out of alignment or the force of the molars being rubbed back and forth creates a great deal of tension in the neck and jaw, headaches can result.
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Bad Posture
Bad posture, such as that created from working from home on a laptop, sleeping in an unsupportive bed, or texting, can cause headaches. This posture puts a strain on your muscles, joints, and ligaments, and chiropractic works to reverse that.
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Injuries
This may seem obvious, but getting hit in the head or experiencing pain from injuries can cause headaches. Pain in one area of your body can trigger a pain response in your head. Chiropractic can help with the original injury as well as the headache.
The Most Common Headaches We See
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Tension
Tension headaches are the most common, and it’s no surprise given the high levels of stress most Americans feel. Stress or tension headaches often start at the back of the head and impact both sides of the head equally.
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Drinking adequate water and reducing stress helps the occurrences of tension headaches. Chiropractic care, myofascial release techniques, stretching, and acupuncture also support the reduction of tension headache pain and frequency.
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Cluster
Cluster headaches typically impact only one side of the head, usually behind the eye. They can be extremely painful and are considered a neurological disorder. Those who suffer from cluster headaches are often treated with drugs, oxygen, or surgery to help the nerves. Chiropractic care and acupuncture help conditions related to nerve disorders and should be considered a strategy against recurring cluster headaches.
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Migraine
Migraines have been considered genetic or triggered by environmental stressors. They can include nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, and sensitivity to light or sound.
Removing triggers through lifestyle changes can help patients reduce attacks, and both acupuncture and chiropractic can help relieve the severity of the pain as well as how often they occur. In fact, in our office, we have found treating the jaw can help with migraine headaches.
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TMJ Related Headaches
As mentioned, TMJ is a considerable producer of headaches. Clenching teeth activate trigger points in the jaw, and these refer to pain to places on the head.
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Prenatal / postnatal
Changes in hormones, such as before or after pregnancy, bring many patients into our West Chester office for headache pain relief. Acupuncture, dry needling, and chiropractic all help get the body back into balance to reduce the problematic symptoms of hormonal changes during and after pregnancy.
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How We Help Relieve Chronic Headache Pain
When you become a new patient with us, we always start with a thorough medical history and structural assessment. We want to see how your body is performing to learn what adjustments need to be made and begin to discover the root cause of the headache pain.
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From there, we offer a wide variety of natural techniques to support your body in healing itself. These include chiropractic adjustments, myofascial release, rehabilitative exercises, and stretches you can do at home. We also offer dry needling, cupping therapy, and acupuncture.
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Pain Is Not the Norm
Living with headache pain seems normal. When we walk through the medicine isles, we see a number of pain solutions and think pain is just part of life, but it doesn’t have to be. Of course, accidents happen from time to time, and injuries can occur. Sometimes we get headaches because of the environmental stress we are subject to but regular, on-going pain and headaches aren’t normal. These are a symptom of something your body is asking from you. Listen, and let’s work together to help you start living pain-free.
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"100% recommend Dr. Zumberger! She helped me when I was in so much pain in my neck/head from a major tension and migraine headache that I ended up I. The ER for (first ever trip and first headache like this). After MRIs and family doctors didn’t help, she did. I saw her 3 times a week until improvements started to happen. I am pain free now (zero headaches after 1 year) and currently get adjusted at least 2 times a month to maintain the healthy benefits by visiting a chiropractor. Do yourself a favor and go!" - Carrie Q. // Lebanon, Ohio
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"I highly recommend Dr. Dalton. I have never been to a Chiro before Performance Health and was a bit nervous going in. It's a very comfortable and clean environment, very pleasant and easy to set up appointments online, and above all, he is exceedingly knowledgeable and gets results. You will not be disappointed." - Brad M. // West Chester, Ohio