Many patients seek chiropractic care for headaches in San Rafael, because they do not want to keep medicating or their pain simply does not respond to medication. Headaches are one of the major reasons people miss work and have a huge impact of quality of life in general. They can be caused by a wide variety of problems. Chiropractic techniques and cranial therapies can ease headache pain.
Do You Need Headache Relief from a Concussion?
If you are suffering headaches due to a concussion, also know as a post-traumtic headache, chiropractic treatment goals would be to: reduce inflammation in your cranium, shift the tone of your nervous system from the sympathetic fight/flight mode to the parasympathetic relaxed healing mode, and relieve physical irritation to your brain. This can all be accomplished through gentle SOT chiropractic adjusting and Cranial Therapy. You may also need to reduce the inflammatory process in your brain on the cellular level. This means both addressing neuroinflammation originating in the brain, but also system issues that can contribute to that inflammation. In these cases a functional medicine approach is also recommended.
Can Jaw Problems Cause Headaches?
If you have TMJ issues, these can certainly cause headaches, dizziness, ringing in your ears, and perhaps sinus pain. If you clench or grind your teeth, your jaw pops or your chin swings to one side when you open your mouth all the way, you have TMD (Temporomandibular Dysfunction). Sometimes people are not aware that they clench or grind their teeth, but if you wake up in the morning with a headache, it is a likely cause.
Structural issues in the neck, lower back or even feet can set you up for jaw misalignment. The jaw itself will need to be treated, but the underlying biomechanics must be addressed first. The Sacro Occipital technique has specific protocols for TMJ that are very successful in reducing or eliminating headaches. Dr. Smith is the only chiropractor in San Francisco Bay Area certified in SOT chiropractic for TMJ.
What to Do About Migraines and Tension Headaches
Both migraines and tension headaches are due to brain circulation and muscle tension, but they are on a spectrum. Migraines are more related to blood flow, while tension headaches are more related to muscles. Both blood flow an muscle tone are regulated by your nervous system, so both respond to chiropractic adjusting, cranial therapies.
Sinus Headache Relief
Sinus congestion is most often related to allergies or a cold. That can give you a headache, but it is usually short term. Chronic sinus headaches can be more than simple congestion. There is congestion, but it may be because the sinuses are inflamed, swollen to the point that there is simply less space for the fluids that normally flow through the sinuses to move. This can come from chronic irritation. I have also seen this show up on MRI for many concussion patients.
The same SOT Cranial Therapy that restores the pumping of fluid around the brain, restores the pumping of fluids within the sinuses of the skull. Once proper movement is restored, irritation and inflammation decrease and that pressure that creates sinus pain goes away. I have often had patients report a great deal of sinus drainage after a session of Cranial Therapy.
And then there’s Stress
We live busy lives. The pace in Marin County can be frenetic. Add stress from health issues, work, relationships or loss to that equation and the result can be the same kind of muscle tension or jaw clenching that comes from structural issues.
Sometimes your brain just needs a break. Cranial work puts the nervous system into a state of deep relaxation. It’s like having a 3 hour nap in 10 minutes. If stress levels have reached the point of headaches, a cranial session can provide the reset you need to relax and carry on.
