Understanding Headaches: Causes And Treatment Options

Headaches in Knoxville are a common cause for people to avoid work and other activities.  If the severity or frequency of your headaches is significantly impacting your activities of daily living it may be time to seek treatment.  Occasional headaches are not uncommon and often have specific causes.  Headaches more than once per week with specific triggers causing the sufferer to avoid most activities are a serious problem.   It is important to understand the cause of your headaches in order to choose the best treatment option for you.  Headaches can be classified as primary headaches or secondary headaches.  Primary headaches are not due to another medical condition including cluster, migraine, tension, and cervicogenic headaches.  Secondary headaches are often a side effect of another health condition including head injury, hypertension, infection, medication, sinus congestion, trauma, or tumor.  These causes of headache are often the first concerns from patients suffering from headaches.  These conditions often have additional specific signs and symptoms that may help in diagnosis and differentiation.

Cluster headaches get their name because they occur in clusters lasting weeks or months at a time.  These headaches include pain on one side of the head around the eye.   Treatment often includes avoiding triggers such as alcohol, nitroglycerin, and histamine.  Migraine headaches are known for severe often debilitating pain that often is associated with nausea or even vomiting.  Patients with migraines often have sensitivity to light and sound.

Headaches are often described and differentiated by their symptoms rather than their physiological cause.  This often leads to difficulty with consistent, reliable treatment options for all suffering with headaches.  Medication is directed at making headaches less painful and more bearable.  Avoiding triggers is another common preventative method but it is often hard to know what individual triggers may be.

Chiropractic Care for Headaches in Knoxville TN

Chiropractic at Rocky Top Chiropractic is a safe and effective treatment option for many headaches particularly cervicogenic and tension headaches.  Chiropractic adjustments restore normal pain free range of motion in the neck allowing muscle tension to relieve, inflammation to decrease, and promote optimal nervous system function.  A 2017 study by Chaibi et al suggests that manual chiropractic therapy was a safe and effective treatment option for participants with cervicogenic headache.

Chiropractic management is safe and effective for pain relief in most headaches.  A thorough clinical exam and consultation will allow for appropriate determination of your headache cause and the correct treatment options.

For more information call Rocky Top Chiropractic at 865-444-5994.