Headaches and migraines are very common, but that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with. When stress or other triggers are causing you to have frequent headaches, it might be time for you to make some lifestyle adjustments. This isn’t an easy task, but changing certain habits can get your pain under control.
At Pinnacle Health Chiropractic, our team’s goal is to help you kick your headaches so you can get back to a pain-free life. Our team is led by Dr. Jason Ablett, our expert chiropractor who specializes in treating all kinds of pain, including headaches. With his help, you can incorporate chiropractic care into your treatment plan.
Headaches come in many different types, ranging in severity from a mild ache to severe pain. Your symptoms greatly help determine what type of headache you’re suffering from, which allows Dr. Ablett to formulate a treatment plan specifically for your type of headache.
There are three categories of headaches that you can experience — primary headaches, secondary headaches, and cranial neuralgias. For example, migraines are an example of a primary headache, while sinus headaches are considered secondary, because your sinuses are the primary cause. Other types of headaches include:
Each one of these headaches comes with their own specific symptoms, which makes it a little easier to pinpoint which one you’re suffering from. The most common symptom is pain in your head, but there are other symptoms that you could experience, including:
No matter what symptoms you have, figuring out what’s causing your headache is half the battle of figuring out how to tame your headaches for good.
Each type of headache can be caused by a variety of lifestyle factors and outside triggers. When your headaches first begin, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what’s bringing them on; but this is an important step in figuring out how to prevent, and treat, your headaches. There are many different causes of headaches, including:
Sometimes, some causes may trigger more than one type of headache, meaning what causes a tension headache could also be the trigger to a migraine headache as well. These triggers aren’t always easy to identify, so you might have to endure several headaches before you actually figure out what’s causing them.
Headaches aren’t always benign, so if you experience a sudden headache that’s worse than normal, or your symptoms are severe, make sure to seek emergency help as soon as possible.
Although your headaches are tricky to deal with in the moment, there are many things you can do to manage them — including making lifestyle changes to avoid your triggers. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of avoiding certain triggers and following a routine to help keep your headaches at bay.
So what can you do in your life to stop the pain of headaches in their tracks? There are several steps you can take to decrease the likelihood of further attacks, including:
If bright lights or sunlight bothers you and usually results in a headache, make sure to wear sunglasses outside or when you’re in bright lights. When you suffer from tension headaches, reducing stress can be very helpful in managing your symptoms. However, this is obviously easier said than done.Things you can do to manage your stress include meditation, yoga, and you guessed it — try to relax.
Stress reduction is very helpful at managing not only your headaches, but also the rest of your health. Although these lifestyle adjustments usually help the intensity and frequency of your headaches, it doesn’t always get rid of the problem. In this case, Dr. Ablett may supplement you with other treatments like:
Headaches usually respond well to a mix of medical treatment and lifestyle modifications. Dr. Ablett helps you get long-term relief from your chronic headaches with a variety of methods and treatments.
When you’re tired of dealing with chronic headaches or migraines, don’t continue to suffer — book an appointment online with Dr. Ablett, or you can call Pinnacle Health Chiropractic today.
