In the US alone, the estimated cost of migraines is $17 Billion each year. A person’s migraine symptoms may differ from another person. Some of these symptoms include pulsating pain quality, ranging from moderate to extreme pain, nausea and vomiting. A patient may also experience photophobia or phonophobia or both. There are 2 types of migraine, migraines with aura and migraines without aura. To find an alternative and scientifically alternative remedy for migraines, a study was conducted in Australia to gauge the effectiveness of chiropractic spinal manipulation and its long term effects on person suffering from migraine attacks.
The study was conducted in 2000 on the effectiveness of Spinal Manipulation to treat migraine (A Randomized Controlled Trial of Chiropractic Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Migraine Peter J. Tuchin, GradDipChiro, DipOHS,a Henry Pollard, GradDipChiro, GradDipAppSc,a and Rod Bonello, DC, Dob). The study was conducted through the help of 127 volunteer patients ages 10 up to 70 who have suffered from migraine for at least once a month before the chiropractic treatment were introduced to the patients, including spinal manipulation. The study lasted for 6 months, the first 2 months included data gathering, where patients were asked a series of questions and to keep a diary to record how long the migraine lasted including its symptoms. On the 3rd and 4th month, the patients were given chiropractic treatment and spinal manipulation to treat migraines which consisted of up to 16 sessions. On the 5th and 6th month, post data collection was done to gauge the effectiveness of the chiropractic treatments the patients were introduced to.
Conclusion: Out of 127 patients 82 patients reported that after the chiropractic sessions their migraine attacks were fewer and less intense. They also reported that the duration of their migraines were shorter which resulted to fewer over the counter medication use.