Migraine Headaches and Chiropractic Care
Migraine headaches affect millions of people on a daily basis. Females are affected twice as often as males and headaches usually begin around the onset of puberty but can vary. There does seem to be a genetic predisposition in families especially seen in females in a family. This category of headaches is typically broken down into to subcategories: Migraine headaches accompanied by an aura (Classical Migraine), and those without an aura (Common Migraines). Common migraines constitute the overall majority of migraine sufferers with about 80% of the cases whereas classical migraine sufferers make up the minority with about 20% of the cases. Most people commonly associate an aura with a migraine when discussing these headaches but it is not the norm statistically.
The aura leads up to the headache and is a nervous system reaction that typically involves the sensory system. Auras can be visual, auditory, sensory, and even motor. The most common visual aura is a visual change known as a scintillating scotoma which appears as a hazy spot in the central field of gaze followed by a patterned light that expands. The second most common aura is the pins and needles sensory feeling called paresthesia that can start in the hands or feet and radiate upward through the limbs to the face. Other common associated conditions include sensitivity to light (photophobia) and sound (phonophobia). The pain associated with the headache itself is usually graded as moderate to severe and is usually described as throbbing. The most common location for the pain is the frontal and temporal regions of the skull and in the area of the eyes but it can vary per case. The pain is typically one sided or unilateral and will build over the course of a few hours to become widespread and diffuse. The pain can last any where from 1-2 hours to more than a day depending on the severity of the episode. Nausea, vomiting, pallor, clamminess, and muscle aches can accompany the migraine as well.
The aura leads up to the headache and is a nervous system reaction that typically involves the sensory system. Auras can be visual, auditory, sensory, and even motor. The most common visual aura is a visual change known as a scintillating scotoma which appears as a hazy spot in the central field of gaze followed by a patterned light that expands. The second most common aura is the pins and needles sensory feeling called paresthesia that can start in the hands or feet and radiate upward through the limbs to the face. Other common associated conditions include sensitivity to light (photophobia) and sound (phonophobia). The pain associated with the headache itself is usually graded as moderate to severe and is usually described as throbbing. The most common location for the pain is the frontal and temporal regions of the skull and in the area of the eyes but it can vary per case. The pain is typically one sided or unilateral and will build over the course of a few hours to become widespread and diffuse. The pain can last any where from 1-2 hours to more than a day depending on the severity of the episode. Nausea, vomiting, pallor, clamminess, and muscle aches can accompany the migraine as well.