Headache Treatment in Portland
Headaches are extremely common, ranging in severity from mildly annoying to limiting your ability to function. If you suffer from headaches, visit the team at Premier Care Chiropractic in Portland, Oregon. Premier Care uses chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, and massage therapy to address the cause of headaches and relieve them.
The cause of headache symptoms can usually be determined by a combination of symptom presentation and the history of symptoms. The team at Premier Care will perform an evaluation of your headache symptoms that will allow us to get a complete picture of your headache, which will allow us to formulate the best treatment plan to help get rid of the headache and keep the pain away.
Headache Frequently Asked Questions
What causes a headache?
Headaches have a variety of causes, including:
Stress
One of the leading headache triggers is stress, which causes muscle tension in the neck and head. Stress also releases fight-or-flight hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Repeated release of these hormones can contribute to headaches.
Head Injuries
A blow to the head can result in acute pain and headache. Head injuries should not be ignored, because even seemingly minor trauma to the head can result in concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Acute Illness
Infectious diseases like colds, the flu, or COVID can create headaches. Sinus infections can also cause headache pain, usually due to inflammation in the sinus cavities leading to pressure buildup.
Environmental Factors
Exposure to pollution, chemicals, allergens, loud noise, bright light, and change in barometric pressure are all potential triggers for headaches.
Dehydration
Dehydration is a frequent cause of headaches. Mild dehydration from insufficient fluid intake can cause persistent and recurring headaches.
Joint Dysfunction
You might develop headaches if your cervical vertebrae aren’t aligned or moving properly. Headaches are a common complaint after car accidents, sometimes because of direct trauma to the head, but more often because of whiplash.
There are other causes of headaches that are not well understood. The exact causes of migraines and cluster headaches, for example, are not clear.
How are headaches treated?
Many people mask the symptoms of headaches by taking over-the-counter medication. This does not prevent recurrence of headache pain because it doesn’t address the root cause of the headaches.
The first step in treating headaches is understanding the cause of the headaches, and then taking steps to prevent the cause from occurring. For example, if your headaches are triggered by stress, finding ways to minimize the effect of stress, improve sleep quality, and alleviate the muscle tension that arises from stress are all important components in addressing headache symptoms.
Headache treatment at Premier Care is centered on treatment of muscle tension and injury treatment and works in conjunction with changes to habits and preventative measures.
How does chiropractic care help with headaches?
Premier Care Chiropractic treats the cause of your headache. If the headache is a result of too much muscle tension in the neck or joint mobility issues in the neck or upper back, chiropractic adjustments can make a huge difference in headache severity and frequency.
Acupuncture and massage are also great interventions for reducing pain and tension associated with headaches. This is primarily done by alleviating muscle tension that contributes to headache symptoms.
