Have you ever tracked how long you have a headache with and without a chiropractic adjustment? That would be a very interesting mini health experiment, wouldn’t it?
You may already know from past experience that chiropractic adjustments will cut a headache short and the sooner you can get an appointment with Portland chiropractor Dr. Helton, the sooner your headache will leave.
The reason why the headache disappears with chiropractic is because of what’s happening anatomically in your body. Your spinal cord is surrounded by spinal vertebrae. Each spinal vertebrae is separated from the vertebrae on top and on bottom by a disc that is made of a jelly-like material. The disc offers protection for the vertebral body so it doesn’t wear out before its time.
Spinal nerves emerge from the spinal cord and pass through a hole called a foramen located in the vertebral body. From there, the spinal nerve passes on to the part of the body where it brings life to the body part.
One very common cause of headaches occurs when the spinal nerve that is innervating your head is compressed. The compression may be exaggerated if there’s been a previous injury that never healed or when there’s a fresh injury such as whiplash. These are also times where it is easy for the vertebrae to get out of alignment. When your vertebrae anywhere in your spine are out of alignment, the nerve coming out of that foramen may be compressed, causing a headache.
In this scenario, each time you move your neck, it’s another opportunity for more compression to occur. But with a chiropractic adjustment, the vertebrae moves back into alignment and the compression is relieved. After the first adjustment, your nerve ‘said’, “Thanks for the relief!” and rewards you with a reduction in the pain of the headache. An additional adjustment will continue to allow the spinal nerve the chance to rest and recover. And similarly, there’s more reduction in pain.
This is why chiropractic is so effective at relieving the pain of a headache. Got a headache today? Get in to our Portland office to see Dr. Helton!
