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What Puts the Ache in Headaches?
The ache in headache does not come from your brain- your brain cannot feel pain. During brain surgery a patient is often wide-awake feeling nothing, even talking to the surgeons and nurses while his/her brain is being operated on (a local anesthesia numbs the scalp). So what puts the ‘ache’ in headache? It’s the non-brain structures: blood vessels, membranes and cranial nerves in the brain and skull and often times structures in the neck as well. When these structures are stretched, compressed, irritated, inflamed or infected, headaches often result.
The Headache Free Approach to Headaches
Anyone who suffers from headaches knows how debilitating they can be and often time headaches come during the worst of moments interfering with life. The typical treatment is to reach for over the counter medicines, feel better, then repeat for the next headache circuit. Over time and with repeated use even over the counter medicine like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Excedrin and Aleve can have detrimental side effects causing harm to major organs such as the liver and kidneys. It’s important to recognize the need for a change if you find yourself or a loved one always reaching for medicine to help their headache and not reaching for answers and solutions to their problem. So here are the hard facts about headaches: the majority of headaches can be treated naturally and safely through physical medicine practices. Physical medicine practices focus on finding the cause of the headache and addressing the root problem through a variety of physical (non-pill) approaches!
How Well Does Physical Medicine Work for Treating Headaches?
In a randomized controlled trial performed at the University of Odense, Denmark, those under physical medical care decreased their use of painkillers by 36% and the number of headache hours per day decreased by 69% (Nilsson N, Christensen HW, Hartvigsen). The effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache. JMPT. 199;20:326-330) Some patients report dramatic relief after just one treatment and most patients find resolution of their headaches by following customized treatment recommendations. The aim of treatment is to find which non-brain structure is causing the headache and then treating the cause, not just chasing a symptom.
What about Hormone Related Headaches?
Menses, menopause, thyroid induced headaches got you beating your beating head against the wall? If there is a non-physical (nerve, muscle) reason for your headaches those can be helped too! There are natural approaches other than harsh hormone replacement therapies (HRT) to helping headaches related to these conditions. A board certified specialist in holistic medicine, Dr. Edward Pearson, MD has had incredible success in treating hormonal imbalances and tough to balance thyroid problems through gentle, natural ways that will rejuvenate your life!