If you find yourself plagued by annoying or even debilitating headaches on a regular basis, bear in mind that these pains do not usually come and go at random -- some underlying physical state triggers practically all forms of pain. Let us take a look at the various headache types, their probable causes, and the steps you can take to achieve lasting relief.

A tension headache can afflict anyone at any time. When the muscles in your neck or upper back tense up, you may feel a dull ache on either (or both) sides of the head. In many cases a small muscle at the top of your cervical spine goes into spasm. This causes a connecting tendon to pull at the sensitive membrane that surrounds your brain, triggering pain. Spinal misalignments due to poor posture or an auto injury can also make you headache prone.

Migraines, a more severe form of headache that can make you nauseous and overly sensitive to light, occur when the blood vessels in the brain constrict and then dilate, affecting blood pressure in the head and causing sudden, intense pain. Blood vessel dilation can also cause a cluster headache, which occurs as a series of brief but devastatingly painful attacks on one side of the head.

Our Yorkville Chiropractor Treats Headaches

Chiropractic adjustments can help relieve headache pain and make you less vulnerable to future attacks, especially when paired with therapeutic massage. Dr. Berkey can correct misalignments in the upper cervical vertebrae that put stress on the muscles in tension headache cases. Our adjustments can also help normalize blood pressure levels, helping to reduce the frequency and intensity of a migraine or cluster headache.

Massage not only relieves tension in the muscles but also boosts blood flow, allowing your circulatory system to carry away pain-causing toxins that accumulate in muscle fibers. If you seek Yorkville chiropractic care for headache relief, our experienced team stands ready to help.

Did you suffer from chronic headaches? What was the cause of the headaches?