Headaches

June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month. Many factors can cause pain within the head. I’m not going to dive too deep into the causes of headaches and migraines at this time, but I am going to touch on how our society as a whole chooses to treat them.

​The majority of headache and/or migraine sufferers choose to treat their pain with over the counter and/or prescription medications. The most popular drugs are acetaminophens (Tylenol, etc,) NSAIDs (Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Aleve, etc,) or opioids (Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Codeine, etc.) Billions of dollars are spent each year purchasing these different types of pain relievers and billions of MORE dollars are spent treating patients who suffer from extreme side effects from these pain relievers. Each year, acetaminophens cause half of the total cases of liver damage, you are at extreme risk of stomach ulcers if you are taking an NSAID for a prolonged period of time, and opioids have the overwhelming ability to create addiction in any patient who takes them!

There is a list a mile long of side effects for all three types of pain relievers including death AND HEADACHES….which is why we are taking the medications in the first place. It is a fact that treating headaches and migraines with any of these medications is a risk. Your body first has to overcome the headache and then overcome any of the side effects that these drugs may have caused.

Chiropractic care and acupuncture is an extremely safe way to not only treat the symptoms of a headache or migraine BUT ALSO treat the cause of the headache or migraine. That is why we always have and always will say “chiropractic first!” I am sharing a Facebook Post I did in the past on this subject. If you or someone you know suffers from headaches or migraines, please know that there are drug free ways to not only alleviate the pain but to also treat the cause of the headache!