Maybe you've had headaches for so long that you've accepted them as something you have to live with. The truth is, you don't have to live with headaches. The key to stopping your headaches is finding their exact cause.

Types of headaches

More than 90 percent of all headaches can be classified as migraine, muscle tension, or cervicogenic. Signs and symptoms of one headache type may overlap with another.

Migraine Headaches produce a throbbing pain and usually involves one side of the head initially. The headache tends to reach its peak intensity after about 30 minutes. Migraines are commonly accompanied by nausea and vomiting. During severe attacks, sensitivity to sound and light may occur forcing the sufferer to seek a dark and quiet room. The headache can last from a few hours to 1 to 2 days.

Muscle Tension Headaches are generally mild to moderate in intensity and can last from hours to days. There is a constant tight or pressure sensation, generally feeling like a tight band is wrapping around the head. Pain and tightness in the neck and shoulder often occurs. Pain generally starts in the base of the skull or temporal regions of the head and spreads outwards to affect other areas of the head and neck.

Cervicogenic Headaches generally produce dull pain that is strong and constant. The most common location of pain is around the eye and upper neck but may also include other areas of the face, head and neck. Pain typically lasts one to three days and will continue to reoccur until properly treated. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, ringing of the ears, and sensitivity to light and sound may also be present.

What's causing your headache?

A small percentage of headaches are dangerous – which is why persistent headaches should be properly evaluated. The majority of headaches however, are caused by restricted motion in the joints and muscles of the upper back and neck.

Cervical facet joints are small joints about the size of the thumb nail located in pairs on the back of the neck. They provide stability and guide motion in the neck.

Misalignments between vertebrae restrict normal facet joint motion causing inflammation of the facet joints and surrounding nerves. The resulting inflammation causes muscle tension, pain, and reduced blood flow to the head. The end result is a throbbing headache.

Research has conclusively demonstrated the importance of these joints for neck pain and headaches. In a recent clinical trial, 60% of a group of patients with chronic neck pain and/or headaches were shown to have a specific facet joint as the source of the pain.

Treatment

The importance of considering restricted motion in spinal joints as a cause of headaches (including migraines) is only now being recognized by the medical community. As a result, this common cause of headaches is frequently over looked and wrongly diagnosed by other types of medical practitioners.

Activator treatments safely and gently remove the cause of your headache - facet joint restrictions. You not only get rid of your headaches but you're able to do it without the serious side effects and risks associated with prescription drugs.

Why not stop what you're doing and call Dr. Williams at 970-304-0260. We offer a FREE consultation and screening tests to help determine if we can help you. Don't lose another day to headache pain.