Another blog post from Ann Arbor Chiropractor, Mike Tannenbaum, D.C., owner and operator of Tannenbaum Chiropractic, LLC.

Headaches – How Chiropractic Can Help.

Headaches. Most of us have experienced them at least once in our life, and many of us have had periodic headaches throughout our lives. Some people experience headaches daily. There are many types of headaches. Some can cause severe pain and be debilitating. Often, people who have a headache simply take a pain killer and hope the pain disappears. However, the pain will likely return: if not that day, then another day. This is because the root cause of the headaches is not being addressed by popping a pill. Headaches often have a nerve/musculoskeletal component.

Research suggests that those with musculoskeletal issues are more likely to develop headaches. My experience suggests that when people suffer frequent or chronic headaches, it is often related to misalignment of the upper neck bones. While the malposition (or incorrect position) of these bones may often be the root cause of headaches, the muscles near and around the head tighten as a result of the neck bone misalignment, thus contributing to the headaches. There are other factors that result from neck bone misalignment that contribute to the headaches, too, but muscles issues are major contributors.

There are two types of muscle issues to consider here:

• Abnormally tense muscles, known as hypertonic muscles, or

• Spasming/tight muscles, known as spastic muscles.

Both of these muscle abnormalities are linked to keeping the misaligned bones out of position, as well as causing other factors that contribute to headaches. So, the solution here to getting rid of headaches is to get misaligned neck vertebrae back into the proper position. Generally, this allows the hypertonic or spastic muscles to return to their normal state, and causes other physiological changes that help get rid of headaches. Finally, chiropractors are the health care professionals who people should be turning to help get rid of their headaches, as chiropractors are experts in the art and science of getting out-of-place spinal bones back to their proper position.

If you have any questions about this blog post, chiropractic, headaches, neck pain, or back pain, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].