The many types of headaches: chiropractic can help

Headaches come in MANY different sizes, shapes, and colors. In fact, if you search “headache classification,” you will find the IHS (International Headache Society) 152 page manual (PDF) lists MANY different types of headaches! Last month, we discussed migraine headaches. This month, we’ll talk about the other headache types. So WHY is this important? Very simply, if we know the type of headache you have, we will be able to provide you with the proper treatment. Headaches are classified into two main groups: “primary” and “secondary” headaches. The “Primary” headache list includes: 1) Migraine; 2) Tension-type; 3) Cluster; 4) “Other primary headaches,” of which eight are listed. One might think that with this simple breakdown of the different types of headaches it should be easy to diagnose a type of headache. Unfortunately, that’s NOT true! In fact, a 2004 study published that 80% of people with a recent history of either self or doctor diagnosed sinus headache had NO signs of sinus infection and actually met the criteria for migraine headaches! So, the more we can learn about the different types of headaches, the more likely that we will arrive at an accurate diagnosis.

Tension-Type Headaches: This is the most common type affecting between 30-78% of the general population. It is usually described as a constant ache or pressure either around the head, in the temples, or the back of the head and/or neck. There is typically NO nausea/vomiting, and tension-type headaches rarely stop you from performing normal activities. These headaches usually respond well to chiropractic adjustments and to over-the-counter medications like Advil, aspirin, Aleve, and/or Tylenol, though we’d prefer you first reach for an anti-inflammatory herb like ginger, turmeric, bioflavonoid, and the like as these have less stomach, liver, and/or kidney related side-effects. These headaches are typically caused by contraction of the neck and scalp muscles, which can be result of stress, trauma, lack of sleep, eyestrain, and more.

Cluster Headaches: These are less common, typically affect men more than women, and occur in groups or cycles. These are VERY DISABLING and usually arise suddenly and create severe, debilitating pain usually on only one side of the head. Other characteristics include: a watery eye, sinus congestion, or runny nose on the same side of the face as the headache. An “attack” often includes restlessness and difficulty finding a pain-reducing, comfortable position. There is no known cause of cluster headaches, though a genetic or hereditary link has been proposed. The good news is that chiropractic adjustments can reduce the intensity, frequency, and duration of cluster headaches!

Sinus Headaches: Sinusitis (inflamed sinuses) can be due to allergies or an infection that results in a headache. This may or may not include a fever, but the main distinguishing feature here is pain over the infected sinus. There are four sets of sinuses. Many people know about the frontal (above the eyes on the forehead) and maxillary (under the eyes in our cheeks) but the two sinuses deep in head (ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses) are much less known or talked about. These two deep sinuses refer pain to the back of the head, and when infected, it feels like the back of the head could explode. Lying flat is too painful so sitting up is necessary. Chiropractic adjustments applied to the sinuses, upper neck, and lymphatic drainage techniques work GREAT in these cases!

We will continue next month with the remaining types of headaches!

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs.  If you, a friend, or family member requires care for headaches, we would be honored to render our services.

Chiropractic and Active Release: Ulnar Nerve Compression.

A 41-year-old woman with ulnar tunnel compression complained of poor grip strength and numbness in her right forearm and middle fingers. She was treated with chiropractic care including manipulative therapy, Active Release Techniques, and elastic therapeutic taping. Home exercises and improvements to her workstation ergonomics were also implemented. After her first treatment, immediate improvements were noted regarding weakness and numbness. The patient’s symptoms resolved completely after 11 treatments.
Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, June 2013

Broccoli again? This Week’s 1-Page Health News

We hope you have a great Thanksgiving this year! We are here today and tomorrow, with Dr. Hyman’s schedule completely full. Dr. Stripling has availability if you need us.

Should you happen to hurt yourself really badly after tomorrow (be careful!), either contact us through our website- it goes directly to Dr. Hyman- or call the office to get the on-call doctor’s cell phone # from the voicemail.

We’ll be back in the office for a full week next week.

Mental Attitude: Einstein’s Brain.
The left and right hemispheres of Albert Einstein’s brain were unusually well connected to one another, which may have contributed to his brilliance. This study is the first to detail Einstein’s corpus callosum, the brain’s largest bundle of fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication.
Brain, October 2013

Diet: More Reasons to Eat Broccoli and Cauliflower!
Sulforaphane (found in cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and collards) may help reduce the risk of respiratory inflammation that leads to chronic diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In a study setting, researchers found that those who consumed 200 grams of broccoli had nearly three times as many antioxidant enzymes in their upper airway cells compared to baseline measurements. These protective antioxidant enzymes help fight against common environmental pollutants.
Clinical Immunology, March 2009

Exercise: Better Math, English, and Science Grades!
Research on British school children has found a link between academic performance and daily exercise. English, math, and science scores went up as the number of minutes per day of exercise increased with the greatest gains in female science scores. With boys and girls only exercising 18-29 minutes per day on average, how much could grades improve if physical education hours were increased instead of cut back to save money?
British Journal of Sports Medicine, October 2013

Chiropractic: Decrease Childhood Asthma.
A past study found that 3.5% of children raised under chiropractic care developed asthma, whereas 5% of children raised under medical care developed asthma. The authors of the paper concluded that the immune systems of children receiving chiropractic care may be better able to handle allergens which cause asthmatic conditions.
Journal of Chiropractic Research, May 1989

Wellness/Prevention: Kids Need Regular Bedtimes.
A study of 10,000 children in the United Kingdom found that children with inconsistent bedtimes are more likely to suffer from behavioral and emotional problems than their peers who go to sleep at the same time every night. The good news is that the effects are reversible once children settle into a regular bedtime.
Pediatrics, October 2013

Chiropractic Adjustments Decrease Pain Associated with Scoliosis.

A case study involving two individuals with scoliosis and back pain were treated with chiropractic manipulation. One patient received routine care one to two times per month while the other received care as-needed. The patient treated as-needed continued to have curve progression while the patient who was treated routinely did not. Both individuals reported improvements to their back pain.
Journal Of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, May 1994

This Week’s Denver Chiropractic Center 1- Page Health News

This is too cool to not share, but my wife Meredith and our baby sitter Meaghan worked hard to make our Lego costumes for Halloween. I am Lego Captain America. Meredith is Lego Ironman. And Meaghan is Lego Spider Man. A safe and happy Halloween to all!

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Health Alert: Evidence Shows Steroids in Waterways.
Recent research has discovered that common livestock steroids do not fully break down in water as previously believed. Researchers are working to understand the environmental effect of this class of drugs on species that rely on rivers and streams near cattle ranches.
University of Iowa, September 2013

Diet: The Effects of Soy and Whey Protein Consumption on Resistance Training.
A small study looked at the effects of consuming either soy or whey protein prior to resistance training. For fourteen days, male participants consumed either 20g of whey protein, soy protein, or a placebo and then performed six sets of squats at ten reps per set using 80% of their maximum lifting weight. Blood tests showed soy protein appeared to lower serum testosterone levels and whey protein appeared to blunt the effect of the stress hormone cortisol in the body.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, October 2013

Exercise: When Soccer Injuries Occur…
Researchers have found that soccer injuries are more likely to occur if a player’s team is winning, if the player is a forward (an attacking player), after a yellow or red card is issued against the other team, or as the number of free kicks (a kick right after a foul) increases. According to the study’s co-author, Dr. Jaakko Ryynänen, “The ability to recognize periods of matches (games) when the injury incidence is high may be important in terms of preventive measures.”
University of Gothenburg, October 2013

Chiropractic: Heads Up!
If your head is in a forward posture, it can add up to 30 lbs (~13 kg) of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine (neck). In time, this can pull the entire spine out of alignment. Forward head posture may even result in the loss of up to 30% of vital lung capacity. These breath-related effects are primarily due to the loss of the cervical lordosis (the inward curve of the cervical spine), which blocks the action of the inferior hyoid muscle responsible for helping lift the first rib during inhalation.
Rene Cailliet, M.D., January 1996

Chiropractic again: Adjustments Effective After Low Back Surgery.
A review of 32 patients who received chiropractic care after lumbar spine surgery revealed improvements in pain levels with no adverse effects.
Journal Of Manipulative Physiological Therapy, July 2011

Your head position and strain on your neck

For every inch your head is forward, your upper back and neck muscles have to hold an extra 10 lbs (~4.5 kg), as they have to work harder to keep the head (chin) from dropping to your chest. This also forces the sub-occipital muscles (they raise the chin) to remain in constant contraction, putting pressure on the three sub-occipital nerves. This nerve compression may cause headaches at the base of the skull or mimic sinus (frontal) headaches.
Kapandji, Physiology of the Joints, Volume III

We address this in two ways at Denver Chiropractic Center. We use chiropractic adjustments to realign the spine. We also use Active Release Techniques to release those tight sub-occipital muscles that can cause headaches, neck pain and fatigue.

Columbus Day: This Week’s 1-Page Health News

Mental Attitude: The Brain and Learning a Second Language.
Learning a second language requires the brain to create and strengthen new neural connections in the brain’s inferior frontal cortex. This is similar to the structural changes seen in people learning complex motor skills, such as juggling.
Montreal Neurological Institute, September 2013

Health Alert: Obesity in the United States.
78 million adults and 13 million kids are obese in the Unites States (US), with the total number increasing to 113 million by 2022. 60-70% of the US population is either overweight or obese, putting them at risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
American Heart Association, September 2013

Diet: Vitamins and Violence.
Deficiencies of vitamins A, D, K, B1, B3, B6, B12 and folate, and of minerals iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, chromium and manganese can all contribute to mental instability and violent behavior.
Sylvia Onusic, PhD, April 2013

Exercise: Watch Your Step!
When exercising, the force centered on your ankle can exceed up to seven times your body weight. 23,000 people sprain their ankle every day in the United States, resulting in 1.6 million doctor office visits annually. The direct and indirect costs (e.g., lost days from work) associated with treating ankle sprains exceed $1.1 billion annually. To make matters worse, these numbers do not take into account the long-term disability often associated with ankle sprains. Overweight athletes with a prior history of ankle sprain are 19 times more likely to suffer another ankle sprain.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, February 2011

Chiropractic: Increased Productivity!
A small, one-year study of office workers with neck and upper extremity pain found that chiropractic care combined with improved workstation ergonomics resulted in decreased pain, increased quality of life, and up to 100% increased productivity.
Work, September 2013

Wellness/Prevention: Obesity Microbes?
New research suggests changing the mix of gut microbes can prevent obesity, but only if combined with a healthy diet. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables encourages leanness-related microbes to populate the gut leading to better weight control. However, a diet high in saturated fat and low in fruits and vegetables thwarts the invasion of microbes associated with leanness.
Science, September 2013

Chiropractic is an Effective Treatment For Sciatica Patients.

A year-long study compared chronic sciatica patients with symptomatic lumbar disk herniations who received either a microdiskectomy or 21 chiropractic visits. The researchers found that 60% of the patients who received chiropractic care benefited to the same degree as those who underwent surgery. The study’s authors recommend that patients with a symptomatic lumbar disk herniation try chiropractic first, before considering surgery.
Journal of Manipulative Physiologic Therapy, October 2010

A Treatment for Sciatica.

Research revealed 60% of patients with sciatica who failed medical management benefited from spinal manipulation. The authors concluded that patients with a symptomatic lumbar disc herniation who have failed medical management should consider chiropractic care. At Denver Chiropractic Center, our chiropractors know that Active Release Techniques can free up the entrapped sciatic nerve as it passes through the muscles in the hip. In fact, in our experience sciatica is caused by the muscle much more commonly than it is caused by the disc.
Journal of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, October 2010

Chiropractic: Effective for Shoulder Pain.

A systematic review revealed fair evidence supporting manual and manipulative therapy for common shoulder complaints such a rotator cuff disorders, frozen shoulder, and other soft tissue conditions. At Denver Chiropractic Center, we use Active Release Techniques to effectively treat shoulder pain. Our success rate is over 95%.
Journal of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, June 2011