Migraine Headaches without Aura

A migraine headache may go away without appropriate care, but without it another will usually strike within days or weeks. Fortunately, chiropractic care is effective for migraines, and by seeing your chiropractor regularly you can reduce their frequency and severity.

Several studies indicate that spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), also known as chiropractic adjustment, is particularly effective. Adjustments involve quick, strategic thrusts to stuck or misaligned joints. To perform adjustments, chiropractors either use their hands or a tool called an activator. By performing an adjustment to the appropriate joints, your chiropractor can help alter the pain sensitivity of your nervous system and reduce the discomfort your migraines cause. Adjustments also relax tight muscles in the neck, which can increase blood flow to the head and reduce the blood vessel constriction that some researchers think contributes to migraines.

To further reduce muscle tightness, your chiropractor may use a technique called trigger point therapy, which involves targeting and loosening pain-inducing contracted muscle fibers called knots or trigger points. To loosen trigger points, chiropractors apply pressure with their fingers, thumbs, knuckles or elbows for about 10 seconds. This separates the contracted fibers and allows blood to rush in and wash out painful irritating chemicals such as lactic acid.

Your chiropractor may also perform a technique called muscular release. To compensate for strained or weakened muscles, the body lays down new tissue to ensure muscle function. But this new tissue is scar tissue, and it may not have the same properties as the original muscle tissue. Over time, this can hinder the muscle's performance, resulting in pain and dysfunction. To improve muscle performance, your chiropractor can perform muscular release. This involves using his or her hands to slide along the muscle's surface, removing scar tissue and allowing new muscle tissue to take its place.

To reduce the pain associated with migraines, your chiropractor may use electrical therapies such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). TENS machines work by sending mild electrical impulses through the skin into nerve fibers below, which causes the body to produce endorphins, its natural painkillers. By targeting the impulses at painful areas, your chiropractor can stimulate the release of endorphins to interrupt the flow of pain signals from the affected tissues to the brain.

For patients with severe migraine pain, some chiropractors may need to make a medical referral. For patients with infrequent but severe migraines, a medical doctor may recommend a pain-relieving drug, such as Tylenol. For patients with more frequent migraines, a medical doctor may recommend an abortive or prophylactic medication. Abortive medications promote the release of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that promotes good feelings and decreases sensitivity to pain. Prophylactic medications work as antidepressants and also help to lower blood pressure.

Finally, your chiropractor will probably recommend ways for you to care for yourself. For starters, he or she will probably recommend that you keep a headache diary and record events that precede your migraines, paying particularly close attention to what you eat because many foods trigger migraines.

Becoming more active and participating in aerobic, relaxation and stretching exercises can also help you relieve tension and relax tight muscles that can contribute to the onset of migraine headaches. Aerobic exercise improves circulation and causes the body to release endorphins, stretching exercises loosen tight muscles that can contribute to headaches and relaxation exercises reduce the stress and tension that can lead to tight muscles.

If you don't get help, migraine headaches can be unrelenting. But by adopting lifestyle changes, learning about what causes migraines and getting regular chiropractic care you can help reduce their frequency and intensity.