Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, safe and effective way to reduce migraines for people who suffer from them. Chiropractic care is not for everyone. Patients who cannot use prescription medicines or are at risk from other health problems should seek chiropractic care. Despite the many advances in medical science over the past century, the cause of migraine headaches remains a mystery.
Migraine Headaches
These are therefore thought to be idiopathic. There are many theories to explain migraines. These theories include genetic malformations and arterial swelling in the skull. Another theory that chiropractic theory supports is that migraine headaches can be caused or contributed to by subluxations of the muscles at the base and neck.
Subluxations are tense areas in the muscles that are adjacent to the small bones of the upper spine. Most often, doctors overlook the tension because X-rays show that the bones are in the correct positions.
Chiropractors
A chiropractor works by relaxing the subluxations and manipulating the spine. A chiropractor can use either straight or mixed chiropractic to treat migraine patients. Straight chiropractic is limited to the manipulation of the spine and spinal subluxations. Mixed chiropractic is a combination of traditional manipulation and other complementary methods.
Mixed chiropractic focuses on reducing neck strain and tension. Researchers from Northwestern College of Chiropractic recently made a comparison between drug therapies, chiropractic care, and medication for chronic tension headaches or migraines. The college is located in Minnesota.
Research
The Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics published the results of the research. The research involved 218 patients. Each patient received either regular chiropractic care or drug treatment. The two groups reported a 40 to 50 percent reduction in headache pain at the end of the study. After four weeks, the follow-up on patients from both groups revealed that only the chiropractic group patients still experienced reduced headaches. Only twenty-five percent of patients in the drug therapy group still experienced reduced headache pains due to earlier drug therapy.