-According to a recent NY Times article- Half of chronic migraines, and as many as 25 percent of all headaches, are actually “rebound” episodes triggered by the overuse of common pain medications.
45 million Americans a year experience headaches leaving people like you searching for treatment options. According to a study done at British Columbia University 90% of people who suffer from headaches or migraines use over-the-counter medication to try and treat their symptoms. The biggest problem is that the vast majority of people have no idea of the severe side effects that come from taking these types of medications. Just because they are over-the-counter does not mean that they are safe! Ulcers and intestinal damage are common side effects that are experienced from taking these medications on a routine basis. Other known side effects are liver damage and an increased risk of cardio vascular disease. In fact, according to the National Center for Health Statistics there are over 16,000 deaths a year as a result of taking NSAIDs (Advil, Motrin, Allieve, Aspirin, etc.) regularly. Medications sometimes do help alleviate the symptoms of headaches and pain but they do nothing to actually fix the problem at hand. They only give a temporary relief until the next headache occurs.
Why go through life taking medications which ultimately can cause serious side effects to our health and never truly fix the underlying problem?
Instead try these two tips to help avoid headaches:
- Keep a food journal. If you suffer from migraines many times there are trigger which can be pinpointed as causes of these migraines. There are numerous known triggers and not everyone’s are the same. Unless you track your migraines to see what you had eaten just prior to your attack you will have no way of knowing which ones affect you. Some of the most common triggers are chocolate, red wine, beer, some cheeses, many fruits and vegetables such as avocados. It’s important tospend several months writing down what you eat on a daily basis so when a migraine comes on, you can see what you ate just prior. This will help you to slowly eliminate certain things which may be triggering your migraines. Thereby, reducing the frequency of them.
- Learn ways to cope with stress. Our lives are constantly being exposed to stressful situations and experiences. Unless we figure out ways to deal with this it will manifest itself into pain such as headaches. Stress directly increases muscle tension which can and will lead to headaches. Things such as mediation, yoga, and general exercise are great ways to reduce stress. Stress is linked to several diseases and health conditions. As our world becomes even faster paced we need to learn how to cope and live a healthier and stress-free life.
If you are still struggling with headaches or migraines and haven’t found any real relief, schedule a consultation at our office to learn how we can safely and effectively help you. By getting a chiropractic evaluation we can let you know what the cause for your headaches are and if we can help you become headache/migraine free! If it turns out that spinal fixations or misalignments are contributing to your headaches only a doctor of chiropractic is trained to detect this and correct it. Along with chiropractic treatment we can recommend simple changes in your daily habits which can be contributing to your headaches.