How to get on top of your headaches: The Natural Way
How horrible is it waking up with a headache or consistently experiencing one each day? I think we all know someone who has suffered from pain caused by a throbbing headache or migraine. Headaches can often be caused by a variety of factors (lack of water, too much screen time, stress, being subluxated) but none of which are a SHORTAGE of medication in your body. If you find yourself having to rely on pain medication to get through the working day, keep reading to find out why you may want to reconsider.
Medication in Australia
Did you know approximately 33% of Australians take pain medication every day? Most start with what they can buy ‘over the counter’. Then if ‘over the counter’ medications like Aspirin, Panadol and Nurofen don’t work, what do they do? Typically they take more of these medications, mix them or are prescribed even stronger pain medication. Obviously the side effects of these medications are numerous and of a huge concern. But we know how busy life can be, trying to juggle a thousand different things and sometimes we just need that convenient relief. This action is often not given a second thought, but instead of the quick fix solution, it tends to mask the real, underlying problem. The underlying problem may then go undetected for a long time.
Side effects
Relying on medications to find relief each day places an enormous amount of strain on your liver and other internal organs. New research has found an increased risk of heart attacks in people who had taken NSAIDs (or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Nurofen or Advil). If that isn’t enough to convince you, headache medications frequently have known, but commonly acknowledged side effects. These can range from nausea, vomiting, constipation, dizziness, fatigue, heartburn and serious damage to your gut microbiome.
Options
So you've read this far and are now interested in finding an alternative and a solution. Here are some tips you can try at home next time you experience a headache:
1) Take a break from your computer screen
2) Stretch your body
3) Drink more water
4) Get out and enjoy some sunshine
5) ‘Earthing’ by walking on the grass with bare feet
6) Have your spine assessed by a Chiropractor experienced in headaches
Did you know your body is designed to heal naturally, without the need for drugs and surgery? However, over the years as a society we’ve stopped listening to our bodies and blindly accepted prescribed medications (with more side effects than you thought possible). At House of Chiropractic we see so
many people who have been taking many different medications for years and years. Most people do not know how wonderfully Chiropractic can help, and continue to live on these large amounts of pain killers day after day. If you are all out of options and still experiencing headaches, you may need an adjustment. Correcting subluxation (spinal misalignments) allows the nervous system to work better and the body to heal. Our chiropractic team are passionate about working with your bodies natural healing instinct to create a specific care plan and help you get your life back.
We know that the pain can often be so intense that reaching for these pills can seam like the only option, but we have good news. Research has shown chiropractic adjustment to be significantly better than many of the common drugs prescribed for headaches. Additionally, over 30% of participants saw a 100% improvement in the frequency and severity of their headaches after receiving Chiropractic care in a recent study.
Chiropractic has and continues to help many children, teenagers and adults who suffer with a large variety of health concerns including; headaches and migraines, neck pain and back pain, posture problems and arm or leg pain. The frustrating thing is that so many people who are on the ‘medication merry-go-round’ do not know the benefits of Chiropractic Care.
Next Steps
When someone is experiencing a headache, there's a likelihood it may be caused by subluxation in their neck (spinal misalignment) putting pressure on the nerves. As previously mentioned subluxation can also cause things like fatigue, dizziness and difficulty sleeping just to name a few. Receiving a Chiropractic adjustment can assist in freeing up the nerve flow and play a major role in reducing headaches.
So next time you go to reach for that quick pain relief, have a think about how those pills may be effecting your body. There's a side effect to everyone. If you would like to stay off pain medication and forget having to rely on prescriptions, come into our Albury practice and see how we can help. We will work with you to try and find the cause of your problems and design a step-by-step solution to get you back to rocking your day with energy and a smile on your face!
Feel free to give us a call on 60090999 or book your initial consultation online today.
We look forward to meeting you.
Reference:
Dose-Response and Efficacy of Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Cervicogenic Headache: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. The Spine Journal. 2010 Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache: a single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial. BioMed Central. 2017
Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise with Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain- A Randomized Trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, Volume 156, 2012
Comments