Spinal Health Week - Headaches

Spinal Health Week - Headaches

Your headache is trying to tell you something.

We (as a community) often underestimate our headaches. This year for spinal health week, the Australian Chiropractic Association has selected “headaches”. Why? Because your headaches are trying to tell you something. From a chiropractic perspective, your spinal health is directly and indirectly related to headaches. 

Before we share with you how spinal health and headaches are related, a quick note: headaches are sometimes a sign of something more sinister going on. If you’ve suddenly started to have many headaches and migraines where you previously haven’t had them before or at that frequency or intensity, definitely seek some medical attention.

Ok, now let’s get started. Here are some things you need to know about headaches, from a chiropractic perspective:

1. Just because it’s common, it’s not normal:

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably experienced a headache before. And if you have, you might even scoff because it’s a very common occurrence for you. 

Whether you’re a teenager about to do at year 10 exam, young adult stressed out about your first rental home, a parent with a room full of screaming kids, an accountant who’s been at their desk for far too long, a well-seasoned elderly person - anyone can get headaches - and most people do.

But what if we told you that you’re not really supposed to be having headaches? Most of the time, a “typical” headache is a sign of misalignment, poor posture, insufficient blood and nutrition flow, exhaustion, and tension. 

It’s time to UN-normalise headaches. If you’re experiencing them, it’s time to do something about that! This is where chiropractic can come in… but we’ll show you exactly how it’s connected in the next points:

2. Today’s lifestyle is contributing to your headache / Poor spinal alignment could be giving you a headache. (Split test the hook titles)

What’s a typical day like for you? Ok, that’s a pretty broad question. How about this:

How many hours a day are you using technology? Phones? iPads? Computers? TVs? Come on… be honest. 

It’s called tech neck.

Today’s day and age, the kind of work lifestyle most of us have makes people more susceptible to headaches 

But why is poor posture associated with headaches?

Poor posture means your spinal cord isn’t aligned the way it SHOULD be. If it’s poorly aligned, that means your vertebra - the bones of your spine - are compressing. If they’re compressing, that means your blood supply AND nerve supply are getting affected between your head, neck and rest of the body. It also means your muscles are pulling and experiencing unnecessary tension. ALL of these things are contributing to headaches! And guess what: the headaches are a SYMPTOM of bigger problems. 

This is why chiropractic care is extremely important. In our practice, we focus on bringing alignment to our clients’ spines so that all structure are communicating smoothly and without pain.

3. No one has told you about cranials and headaches

There’s a specialist chiropractic approach called cranials (not many chiropractors use this technique, but our Dr Winnie does). Cranials are actually very important to address when it comes to headaches. 

Why? Did you know that your skull has JOINTS in it? They’re not typical joints that you can control… but they can move, ever so slightly. These are called fibrous joints. Your brain sits in your skull in a medium called cerebrospinal fluid. If the joints in your cranium are slightly distorted, then the way your brain sits in your skull is also slightly distorted. That distortion will pull on other structures and tissue that keep your brain protected, secure, and in reception of a healthy supply. That distortion will mess with those structures, which surprise, surprise… can lead to headaches. 

This is why cranial work from a chiropractor is important. Because your skill has joints, and a well aligned skull means a well aligned brain, which means improved cerebrospinal fluid flow.

If you’ve learnt something new, send this to a loved one AND make sure you book your chiropractic appointment! Whether you’ve been having consistent headaches, or you want to reduce their likelihood. 

Whether this is your first time, or you’re coming back for more treatment, pick up your phone and give us a call. We’re here to help!