Off and on for the past few years I've suffered from headaches & migraines...ranging in severity from "Eh, I'll just work through this." to "OMG I feel so sick I can't do anything." My migraines were at their worst during my dietetic internship (due to stress, I presume). They became so unbearable I ended up visiting the ER ~2-3 times in 6 months, I had my eyes checked due to vision disturbances, was prescribed migraine medication, and even had a CT scan to rule out severe causes for my pain. Luckily, my brain was perfectly fine (to the X-ray tech and MD, at least) and I quit taking the meds after just one week due to ridiculous side effects.
Fast forward a few years - my migraines for the most part faded away after passing my RD exam, but I still suffered from headaches more frequently than I would have liked. Over time I learned what did/didn't work for me (If Excedrin Migraine was not available, Extra Strength Tylenol was 'ok'); I attempted to drink more water each day (ending up in the ER for dehydration-related headaches is no fun); and if all else failed, would lie down and take a nap if able. There were a few occasions I used sick days from work because getting out of bed and being a functional human being seemed impossible. As I look back now, I know this wasn't a normal way to live or cope, but at the time it seemed to be "my normal."
Now to "Present Day" 6 months ago...prior to this time, I had never given chiropractic care a second thought. I remember my mom going once or twice growing up (MAYBE...) but only for severe kinks in her neck or back. So how did I come across a chiropractor? I attended a Baby Bump Health Fair after my son was born. I saw an event on Facebook and thought it would be fun to get freebies for myself and the babe, and enter to win cool prizes. Wasn't even remotely interested in what the clinic hosting could offer me.
After scoping out multiple vendors that day (Osborne books, essential oils, Babies R' Us, etc.), I noticed a chiropractor doing some sort of free stress test on a fellow mom and was slightly intrigued. **I later learned it was a Nerve/Thermal scan - the practitioner uses a non-invasive probe and starts at the top of your spine and works their way down to measure tension and nerve irritation. Results are printed on a visual graph with bars - short white, blue and even some red bars show mild tension/irritation; while longer bars that were darker colors showed high tension/irritation. Below is an example of graph I obtained through a Google search). I didn't understand how a simple tool read all of this (still really don't) but figured what the heck, I'm here, so might as well take advantage.
The chiropractor performing the test placed the probe at the top of my spine (top cervical bone, or C1) and waited for a beep, then continued to C3, C5 and C7. You know how I mentioned that the colors and length of bars in the above paragraph correlated to stress/tension? Yeah, well mine were all LONG and BLACK. Yes, black! The chiropractor asked me if I ever felt neck tension or headaches; admitted on average I suffered from them ~4x/week. Come to find out that only 4 headaches PER YEAR is considered normal. Shocking, right? He recommended I have a follow up appointment and go from there...I was kind of apprehensive because I figured they were just trying to get my money, but I caved and scheduled anyways. Why did I decide to do this now?? Honestly, because I had already tried every other "solution" out there and nothing had worked thus far - so I figured I had nothing to lose!! But really, it was because as a new mom, I figured I needed to start being proactive with my health so I could enjoy being with Eli; without needing excuses to miss out on future football games or school activities.
To this day - 6 months later - I still regularly attend my once monthly chiropractor visits. Sure, in the beginning I went more often (3x/week, then 2x/week, followed by 1x/week then every other week) but after my initial neck adjustment, my headaches completely diminished. SERIOUSLY. After feeling the proof in my own body I didn't need any more convincing. At now 26 years old, I can't believe I almost started settling for my headaches & migraines, thinking "this is just how it is!" I never realized what life could be WITHOUT them. And more surprisingly, I never realized most of my headaches were caused because of tension "kinks" in my neck! After only 10 visits (3 weeks), my re-scan was completely different - all shorter blue and white bars. But at that point, I didn't need a scan to tell me how great I was feeling - my chiropractor was even surprised how quickly my spine was adjusting.
One trait I fully appreciated from my chiropractor was his honesty - while I was feeling amazing at the moment, he did admit that my spine could at times go back to being funky. And yes, there has already been an episode where I needed to schedule an additional appointment because I slept wrong, I had a terrible tension headache, and my neck needed additional adjustments. Having said this, I'd still recommend regular adjustments to any headache or migraine sufferer - my overall my health and quality of life has improved; and I'm sure it could help so many other people out there, too. Also - having only 1-2 headaches in 6 months vs. the roughly 96 (4x/week) that I was used to?! To me it's a no brainer...
While I may be promoting chiropractic care for headaches, this does NOT mean I agree with the chiropractors (you know the ones...) who promote weight loss regimens or can cure certain diseases. While I can physiologically understand how a "Pain in the Neck" can result in headaches, I cannot fully back other claims some practitioners stand behind. So as always: use your best judgement; and know that YOU are the best decision maker when it comes to you and your family's health.
Fast forward a few years - my migraines for the most part faded away after passing my RD exam, but I still suffered from headaches more frequently than I would have liked. Over time I learned what did/didn't work for me (If Excedrin Migraine was not available, Extra Strength Tylenol was 'ok'); I attempted to drink more water each day (ending up in the ER for dehydration-related headaches is no fun); and if all else failed, would lie down and take a nap if able. There were a few occasions I used sick days from work because getting out of bed and being a functional human being seemed impossible. As I look back now, I know this wasn't a normal way to live or cope, but at the time it seemed to be "my normal."
Now to "Present Day" 6 months ago...prior to this time, I had never given chiropractic care a second thought. I remember my mom going once or twice growing up (MAYBE...) but only for severe kinks in her neck or back. So how did I come across a chiropractor? I attended a Baby Bump Health Fair after my son was born. I saw an event on Facebook and thought it would be fun to get freebies for myself and the babe, and enter to win cool prizes. Wasn't even remotely interested in what the clinic hosting could offer me.
After scoping out multiple vendors that day (Osborne books, essential oils, Babies R' Us, etc.), I noticed a chiropractor doing some sort of free stress test on a fellow mom and was slightly intrigued. **I later learned it was a Nerve/Thermal scan - the practitioner uses a non-invasive probe and starts at the top of your spine and works their way down to measure tension and nerve irritation. Results are printed on a visual graph with bars - short white, blue and even some red bars show mild tension/irritation; while longer bars that were darker colors showed high tension/irritation. Below is an example of graph I obtained through a Google search). I didn't understand how a simple tool read all of this (still really don't) but figured what the heck, I'm here, so might as well take advantage.
The chiropractor performing the test placed the probe at the top of my spine (top cervical bone, or C1) and waited for a beep, then continued to C3, C5 and C7. You know how I mentioned that the colors and length of bars in the above paragraph correlated to stress/tension? Yeah, well mine were all LONG and BLACK. Yes, black! The chiropractor asked me if I ever felt neck tension or headaches; admitted on average I suffered from them ~4x/week. Come to find out that only 4 headaches PER YEAR is considered normal. Shocking, right? He recommended I have a follow up appointment and go from there...I was kind of apprehensive because I figured they were just trying to get my money, but I caved and scheduled anyways. Why did I decide to do this now?? Honestly, because I had already tried every other "solution" out there and nothing had worked thus far - so I figured I had nothing to lose!! But really, it was because as a new mom, I figured I needed to start being proactive with my health so I could enjoy being with Eli; without needing excuses to miss out on future football games or school activities.
To this day - 6 months later - I still regularly attend my once monthly chiropractor visits. Sure, in the beginning I went more often (3x/week, then 2x/week, followed by 1x/week then every other week) but after my initial neck adjustment, my headaches completely diminished. SERIOUSLY. After feeling the proof in my own body I didn't need any more convincing. At now 26 years old, I can't believe I almost started settling for my headaches & migraines, thinking "this is just how it is!" I never realized what life could be WITHOUT them. And more surprisingly, I never realized most of my headaches were caused because of tension "kinks" in my neck! After only 10 visits (3 weeks), my re-scan was completely different - all shorter blue and white bars. But at that point, I didn't need a scan to tell me how great I was feeling - my chiropractor was even surprised how quickly my spine was adjusting.
One trait I fully appreciated from my chiropractor was his honesty - while I was feeling amazing at the moment, he did admit that my spine could at times go back to being funky. And yes, there has already been an episode where I needed to schedule an additional appointment because I slept wrong, I had a terrible tension headache, and my neck needed additional adjustments. Having said this, I'd still recommend regular adjustments to any headache or migraine sufferer - my overall my health and quality of life has improved; and I'm sure it could help so many other people out there, too. Also - having only 1-2 headaches in 6 months vs. the roughly 96 (4x/week) that I was used to?! To me it's a no brainer...
While I may be promoting chiropractic care for headaches, this does NOT mean I agree with the chiropractors (you know the ones...) who promote weight loss regimens or can cure certain diseases. While I can physiologically understand how a "Pain in the Neck" can result in headaches, I cannot fully back other claims some practitioners stand behind. So as always: use your best judgement; and know that YOU are the best decision maker when it comes to you and your family's health.
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