Headaches

We all suffer from headaches at some time in our lives. You may, however be getting more than you can bear, and they may be due to problems in your neck, which is where Chiropractors in Southampton can help as Chiropractors can treat many of the causes of headaches. Headaches can be caused by many different reasons but a lot of these are physical – such as sitting peering at a screen for too long every day like the man in the cartoon!

The head is a bit like a bowling ball – weighing about 12 lbs and it perches on our relatively skinny necks so the muscles in the neck have to be finely balanced to keep our head upright – which is why, when we sit for hours looking at a screen or down, for example at a lap top or sewing etc, the muscles in our necks develop the trigger points as shown in the figure right and a headache results.

Headaches can be due to many different reasons and affect different areas of the head.

Chiropractic treatment may help to relieve tightness in your neck muscles due to stress and tension in your neck, shoulders and back. Treatment may also be effective in relieving headaches that have started after an injury or repetitive strain to your neck.

Migraine is a severe headache, usually accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, blurred vision, flashing lights, sensitivity to light. Problems affecting the joints (facets) between the bones in your neck (vertebrae) can cause headaches and be a cause of migraine. Treating these joints and making sure that they function as they should provides huge relief from migraines.

What do we do?

Chiropractors in Southampton at the Avenue Clinic are experts in finding out the cause of the pain – is it cervicogenic – i.e. coming from the neck? We can identify any stiffness in the joints of the neck and by treating them, improve their movement and relieve the muscle spasm and nerve irritation that may be causing the problem.

Treatment consists of specific manipulation or mobilization of the joints to free up any that are stiff to help reduce spinal nerve irritation. We may also recommend ice, heat or massage treatment amongst other things.

We try to ascertain the cause of your headaches, which can range from stress, shoulder imbalances all the way down to poor foot mechanics, which could be caused by wearing poor footwear – such as high heels.

We also help with individual advice about your lifestyle, posture, work and exercise, to help you to better manage the condition and prevent a recurrence of the problem.