When severe headaches or migraines strike, they can severely impair your daily functioning and significantly diminish your quality of life.
If you’re grappling with these debilitating headaches or migraines, you understand the profound impact they have on your life. What others might perceive as a minor inconvenience is a genuinely incapacitating condition for you, hindering your ability to perform everyday tasks like talking, driving, working, or even being in well-lit environments.
You may have experimented with rest, sleep, or medication to alleviate the pain, only to find that the migraines persist, negatively impacting your relationships, career, and overall well-being.
Headaches and migraines, although common, often can be managed without resorting to over-the-counter or prescription drugs, both of which can have adverse effects with prolonged use. Frequently, the underlying cause of headaches and migraines is closely linked to neck issues, including tightness, reduced range of motion, poor posture, arthritis, and spinal disc or joint degeneration. Various headache types encompass tension headaches, migraines, cluster headaches, sinus headaches, cranial neuralgias, and facial pain, among others.
Our highly trained team at DuPage Integrative Medicine is ready to assist you in reducing your headaches without relying on harmful medications. To determine if your headaches can be managed without drugs or medications, please contact us to schedule a consultation.
Common Causes of Headaches & Migraines
According to the World Health Organization, headaches and migraines rank among the most common nervous system disorders, often underdiagnosed by healthcare providers. Those suffering from incapacitating headaches or migraines frequently receive prescription medications that merely mask the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause, leaving patients apprehensive about when the next episode will occur.
Head pain and migraines can be triggered by various factors, including:
- Limited neck range of motion
- Muscle tension and tightness
- Muscle imbalances
- Chronic and excessive medication use
- Sinus issues
- Concussions
- Whiplash injuries
- Spinal imbalances
- Cranial imbalances
- Habitual neck and head positional strain
- Hormonal fluctuations
- Dietary choices and food additives
- Alcohol and smoking
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Sensory stimuli (bright lights or strong fragrances)
Migraine Symptoms
Migraines present with a broad range of symptoms and are characterized by severe, incapacitating headaches accompanied by a pulsing sensation. Additional symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, and heightened sensitivity to light and sound. These symptoms can persist for several hours to several days and are typically worsened by routine physical activity. The intense, constant pain can affect one side of the head, both sides, or alternate between sides. While not everyone experiences all the stages, migraines can typically progress through four stages:
- Prodrome: This stage often occurs a day or two before the migraine headache itself. Subtle changes like food cravings, constipation, mood fluctuations, fatigue, and neck stiffness may indicate an impending migraine.
- Aura: The aura stage can manifest right before or during the migraine and involves visual disturbances, such as bright spots or flashes of light, temporary vision loss, tingling in the limbs or face, and difficulty speaking.
- Attack: This is when the actual migraine occurs, lasting from a few hours to several days. It includes severe head pain, vision disturbances, heightened sensitivity to light and sound, and nausea or vomiting.
- Postdrome: This stage follows the peak of the migraine. Some individuals may still experience a mild headache during this phase and may also feel fatigued, apathetic, or euphoric.
It’s important to note that migraines vary from person to person, both in terms of duration and symptoms. The intensity of each stage can differ, and some individuals may not experience all the stages.
Treatment for Severe Headaches & Migraines
At our Naperville, IL physical medicine clinic, we are committed to identifying the underlying causes of your migraines. Given that the causes of your headaches are unique to you, our extensively trained medical team collaborates with you to develop a tailored treatment plan that yields optimal results.
At DuPage Integrative Medicine, we conduct comprehensive examinations and diagnostics to formulate a personalized treatment strategy addressing the root causes of your headaches or migraines.
Potential treatment methods may encompass:
- Cervical traction
- Trigger point injections
- Targeted strengthening and stretching exercises
- Postural alignment utilizing Chiropractic BioPhysics
- Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks
- Chiropractic adjustments
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments
- Regenerative therapies
