HEADACHE/HEADACHES
Headaches are caused by a variety of reasons. Often headaches can be a symptom and/or a sign of poor spinal mechanics leading to tension building up around the neck and shoulder muscles. The body works incredibly hard to keep the eyes level. If there are any dysfunctional joints in the spine causing subtle rotations or side bending, the body will adapt the spine in order to keep the eyes level. The side effects of this is commonly felt as tension, stiffness, reduced or altered blood flow to the head and subsequent headache. Other factors such as hormonal fluctuations, diet, stress and medication can lead to headaches.
Headaches are one of the most reported conditions in medicine. Most headaches present as either a tension headache or as a migraine headache or even a combination of the two. At The Aark Clinic, we see many osteopathic patients that either present with headaches as the primary concern or as an associated symptom linked to their shoulder pain or neck pain. The first objective of the practitioner is to rule out any disease process, and to ascertain whether they need to refer for further testing.
The next objective is to examine to ascertain the exact type of headache they are suffering from. Severe tension headaches are often misdiagnosed as migraines and are commonly from a musculoskeletal origin. The sub occipital muscles at the base of the skull become very contracted, facet joints can become restricted irritating the blood vessels and nerves at the base of the skull causing them to release substances known as Bradykinin, prostaglandins, lactate and serotonin.
The pathogenesis of migraines have a different origin. It is believed the vasospasm of the cranial blood vessels brings about the migraine. The brain itself does not have the ability to sense pain, but the meninges are very sensitive to pain. The second phase of a migraine is acute vasodilation of the intracranial and extra cranial blood vessels, this causes severe pain, nausea and photophobia. Migraine symptoms can last up to 48hrs, sometimes longer for some. If you suffer from headaches, call, email or book in at The Aark Clinic. We will be happy to speak to you and advise on the best next step.
WHAT PRACTITIONER AT THE AARK CLINIC SHOULD I SEE?
We recommend treatment with Lloyd Tilney. As an Osteopath, Lloyd will conduct a thorough medical evaluation to ascertain the likely cause of the headaches. Many patients report a reduction in pain and symptoms from a course of Osteopathic treatment.