What's REALLY causing your headache?

Sunday, July 01, 2012 by: Melissa A. Bartoszewski, DC
Tags: headache, causes, migraines

(NaturalNews) Are you sick of that throbbing, tight, aching headache day in and day out? Spending countless dollars on "headache relieving" medications, with no relief? The answer may be much easier than popping an ineffectual pill with multiple side effects, one of which is a HEADACHE! Finding the source of your headache, whether it be from your neck, tight muscles, or the food you are eating, chiropractic care can help to reduce or eliminate your symptoms, sometimes after only one or two treatments.

Headaches can start for many reasons, some may include:

• Prescription drug side effects

• Nervous system dysfunction caused by the vertebral subluxation complex (VSC); (Nerves, muscles, soft tissues, bones and chemicals all make up the VSC).

• Tight (hypertonic) muscles in the head, neck, shoulders (caused by "text neck"/forward head posture)

• Processed foods (preservatives, artificial colors, chemical substitutes)

• Vitamin B or D deficiencies

• Dehydration

The effects of technology on our bodies

Most of us spend too much time looking down at the computer screen, reading on tablets, or texting on our cell phones. The constant flexed neck posture ("text-neck") causes the muscles at the base of the skull (suboccipitals) to become stretched tight. This forward head posture places increased stress on your neck causing your cervical spine and upper back muscles to work harder to keep your head and chin upright. Soft tissue and joint manipulation performed by a chiropractor can help reduce tight muscles, trigger points, and joint irritations.

Food and drugs may be to blame

Food additives such as Splenda, aspartame, MSG, wheat/gluten, soy, high fructose corn syrup, and sodium nitrates found in lunch meats/hot dogs contain chemicals that have been linked to causing headaches. Avoiding toxic ingredients will help reduce dietary causes of headaches. Another important fact to note is that nine of the top ten prescribed drugs in the United States list headaches as a side effect; including Zocor, Prilosec and Amoxicillin.

Treating the cause of your headache... naturally

"A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than a commonly prescribed medication" (The American Chiropractic Association).

Knowing what's in your food, the side effects of the drugs you take, having adequate Vitamins B/D, staying hydrated, and having a chiropractor find the source of your headaches can help to alleviate the pain you've been suffering with day after day.

Sources for this article include
http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=2186
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://text-neck.com/
http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/Forward_Head_Posture.shtml
http://health.howstuffworks.com

About the author:
Dr. Melissa Bartoszewski is a chiropractor at Big D Chiropractic in Dallas, Texas. She is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College. Dr. Bartoszewski is also a raw food and natural healthcare advocate. Follow her on Twitter at PolishChiro and be sure to LIKE her Facebook Fan page at https://www.facebook.com/bigDchiropractic for daily health, exercise, nutrition, wellness, chiropractic tips and much much more!