Headache Treatment in Central, Hong Kong

Chronic Headache Relief with Chiropractic Care: A Central, Hong Kong Chiropractor’s Perspective

We all have headaches from time to time. Unfortunately, they’re a part of life. Headaches can come from various triggers, such as stress, lack of sleep, rigorous exercise, or even certain foods. Our ability to think calmly and clearly and live our everyday lives is essential, and frequent headaches can disrupt that. While medication is often used to relieve symptoms, chiropractic can be utilized to uncover the root cause of those symptoms.  

Chiropractic is a holistic health profession that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the musculoskeletal system, with an emphasis on the spine and its impact on the nervous system and overall health. Chiropractors primarily focus on correcting alignment problems to support the body’s natural healing process with mostly hands-on techniques. We also incorporate other therapies such as exercise and lifestyle advice. These alignment problems are “stuck” joint spaces that may interfere with the brain’s ability to communicate with the body. By treating these “stuck” joint segments, the brain can communicate better with the body, and the nervous system can regulate itself optimally. (Chiro 101) 

Common Types of Headaches We Treat in Central, Hong Kong

There are currently six different types of headaches commonly seen in patients. These types are tension, migraines, cluster, sinus, cervicogenic, and exertional. These are differentiated by their causes, symptoms, and potential triggers.  

Tension Headaches

The most common type of headache is often described as a dull ache that can feel like a tight band around the head. It is normally caused by stress, fatigue, or eye strain.  

Chiropractic care helps relieve muscle spasms and increases the neck's range of motion. It works well in conjunction with body awareness, mobility, and strengthening exercises.  

Migraines

Often one-sided with throbbing and sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.  

While not eliminated entirely, chiropractic can reduce your migraine severity and frequency. It works well in conjunction with lifestyle advice to properly address triggers.  

Cluster Headaches

One-sided and typically behind an eye, these severe, debilitating headaches often occur in patterns or “clusters.” As with migraines, chiropractic can reduce the frequency of these headaches.  

Sinus Headaches

These occur with sinus infections or inflammation, and they cause pain in the forehead, cheeks, and around the eyes. Our care helps with sinus drainage and inflammation reduction.

Cervicogenic Headaches

These headaches originate in the neck and are often associated with stiffness and pain.  As with tension headaches, chiropractic helps relieve muscle strain and joint dysfunction in conjunction with body awareness, mobility, and strengthening exercises.

Exertional Headaches

Triggered by physical activity, chiropractic helps relieve muscle strain and joint dysfunction, in conjunction with body awareness, mobility, and strengthening exercises. Stabilization patterns, both static and dynamic, are also quite useful, along with chiropractic adjustments.  

How We Treat Headaches in Central, Hong Kong

Specific Chiropractic Care

Chiropractors are spinal specialists. When joints become dysfunctional, they cause inflammation in the muscles around the joint as well as the spinal nerves coming from that specific segment of the spine. This is a chiropractic subluxation. Treating chiropractic subluxations:

- Reduces joint dysfunction
- Decreases inflammation of the muscles around that joint space
- Improves communication between the brain and the body

Two primary issues that can cause chiropractic subluxations are macro traumas and micro traumas. Macro traumas are your typical sports injuries, slips and falls, and motor vehicle accidents. Micro traumas are your everyday habits.  These include ergonomics at work, driving, smartphone usage, and exercise (or lack thereof).  It is possible to have chiropractic subluxations without noticing them.  

Chiropractic subluxations, while having a substantial effect on headaches, can also affect the autonomic nervous system - your brain’s unconscious control of the body. Think of how your heart beats, you breathe in air, and you digest food. You don’t outright control these actions in your body. 

The autonomic nervous system is comprised of two specific nervous systems: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. 

Your sympathetic nervous system controls your “fight or flight” response, and your parasympathetic nervous system controls your “rest and digest” response. With “fight or flight,” think of what happens when you approach a stressful situation. With an optimally functioning nervous system, you take in more air and your heart rate increases. At that moment, you're not necessarily thinking about what you want to eat afterwards. When a stressful situation is completed, with an optimally functioning nervous system, your need for more air decreases and your heart rate decreases. At that moment,  thinking about what to eat becomes more prominent, and you may even feel the need to use the restroom. With an optimally functioning nervous system, you should ideally be able to easily transition between sympathetic and parasympathetic responses appropriately. 

Some people experience so many sympathetic responses throughout the day that they are constantly in a sympathetic state. They tend to be constantly wired and irritated and often have difficulty resting. Some people, conversely, are continually in a parasympathetic state. They tend to have trouble completing tasks and staying motivated to do the things they usually love doing.  These people tend to have experienced so many sympathetic responses that they become unable to transition to a sympathetic state healthily. Addressing your nervous system can have a significant impact on your headaches and how they respond to care.  

Common Causes of Spinal Misalignments

Just as there are many triggers that can cause a headache, whether physically related, such as food, sleep, etc., chiropractic subluxations can be triggered by three different types of stressors: physical, chemical, and emotional.  By finding ways to combat these stressors, we can start to address our headache triggers and do what we can to keep them at bay.  

Physical Stressors: As discussed previously, physical stressors can be divided into macro and micro stressors. Macro stressors include typical sports injuries, slips and falls, and motor vehicle accidents. Micro stressors include everyday activities such as ergonomics at work, smartphone usage, driving, and exercise (or lack thereof). 

Emotional Stressors: Emotional stressors come from anything like family, job, money, and even psychological issues stemming from any mental trauma encountered in life.  

Chemical Stressors: Chemical stressors come from the food we eat, the things we drink, the caffeine and alcohol we consume, and our environment.  

Chiropractic care is a great way to combat headaches. Regulating your autonomic nervous system is an excellent complementary way to help with headaches and overall health. 

There are many ways to track our autonomic nervous system. At Atlas Chiropractic, we provide a heart rate variability scan. Checking our heart rate variability can give us insights into whether we are sympathetically or parasympathetically driven and how well we are managing stress. With this data, we can then implement some of the following strategies for regulating our autonomic nervous system. 

How To Regulate Your Nervous System To Help Prevent Headaches

Eat a healthy diet: Limit intake of processed foods and rely on more whole food sources when possible. Portion control with emphasis on lean protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains would be ideal.  

Avoid drugs and alcohol: Drugs and alcohol can further stress the autonomic nervous system. Stay physically active: Exercise can relieve stress and regulate the nervous system. It can also help release tension and make your body feel more relaxed.  

Breath work: Deep diaphragm breaths (belly breaths) help regulate the nervous system by calming the sympathetic nervous system and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.  

Become more mindful: Activities like meditation, being present in the moment, grounding (feeling the earth beneath your feet), and stepping outside to connect with nature are great ways to distract yourself from stressful events and develop new mindsets to tackle emotional stressors in life.  

Sleep more: Sleeping allows the body to recover from the day's activities. It also gives the brain time to communicate, which helps with regulation.  

There are many different types of headaches. While some do not respond well to chiropractic care, many can be treated successfully or reduced with consistent care. Sometimes, headaches can be triggered by more than just physical or emotional stress. Finding the correct trigger is of the utmost importance when it comes to treating your specific needs. Nervous system regulation can help reduce how often headaches occur and also help with long-lasting health. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a chiropractor in Central, Hong Kong, good for headaches?

Yes! Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, drug-free approach to long-term headache relief.  We identify the root cause of your headaches and take a holistic approach, addressing muscle tension, joint mobility, and proper nerve flow.   

When should you see a chiropractor for headaches?

Headaches are common, but not normal.  They are a sign of a deeper problem.  A chiropractor can help you identify if that problem is related to your muscles, joints, discs, or nerves.  

How can I relieve my headaches?

Relieving muscle tension, restoring spinal alignment, and optimizing your nervous system will reduce the frequency and severity of your headaches.  

Can getting your neck adjusted help with headaches?

Absolutely! Many headaches originate in the neck, where they are caused by cervical nerve compression, bad posture, or tech-induced muscle tension.  Our holistic approach helps correct the issues contributing to your chronic headaches.  

What is a natural way to relieve tension headaches?

Tension headaches are caused by stress and muscle tension. Adjustments can relieve the muscle tension and stress that trigger headaches. The restoration of proper nerve flow releases stress-reducing hormones that will further relieve tension. 

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