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Migraine Headaches Are Awful! But Science Shows Chiropractic Can Often Help!


When we tell people that Chiropractic can often (but not always) help with migraine headaches, many people are skeptical because they've heard that Chiropractic is simply for back and neck pain!

So how could Chiropractic help with migraine headaches? Research shows that when your spine isn’t moving properly, it changes the way your brain perceives what’s going on in and around your body; the way it integrates sensory information; and therefore changes the way your brain controls your body.

When we have these segments that are not moving properly, it can manifest as all sorts of symptoms such as migraine headaches, low back pain, colic, and many other things. 

Chiropractic adjustments clear up communication so that your brain doesn’t have to guess what's going on anymore so your nervous system can then function better.

This is why we see so many great symptomatic improvements with Chiropractic care, but also why we can’t help everyone. These spinal irritations are not the only thing causing the pain, headaches or other symptoms. And when it’s not, we obviously can’t help those symptoms.

But the good news for migraine sufferers is that very commonly there is a spinal issue causing the migraine headache and that's when we can often help!

So what does the actual research and evidence show with regards to Chiropractic and migraine headaches?

“Evidence suggests that chiropractic care improves migraine and cervicogenic headaches. The type, frequency, dosage, and duration of treatments should be based on guideline recommendations, clinical experience, and findings."

Let's look more specifically at what research has been done.

The cochrane collaboration (still the gold standard when it comes to scientific reviews) looked at all of the many Randomized Control Trials that compared chiropractic care to other types of care (such as drugs, massage, PT etc) or even sham care.

They found that for migraines and cervicogenic headaches, chiropractic care is at least as effective as, if not more effective than drugs, massage, and other headache treatment options.

Let's take a look at an actual individual study on Chiropractic and migraines that was actually performed at the Chiropractic school Dr. White went to in 2000. They had 127 migraine sufferers and split them into two random groups. One group received 2 months of chiropractic adjustments and the control group received no care.

They found that the chiropractic group had significant improvement with regards to frequency of migraine headaches, duration of the headaches, disability ratings, and medication use!

22% of the chiropractic care group had more than a 90% reduction (about 1 in 5 people had their migraines completely disappear). 49% of people reported significant improvements. So approximately 3 out of 4 participants in this study appeared to respond exceptionally well to chiropractic care!

Some people in the science world who are very skeptical when it comes to Chiropractic argue that these results are purely due to placebo (meaning the participants just imagined that they felt better). Even if this were the case, and if it beats the results of medication and you feel like your migraine is gone, isn’t that a good thing anyway?

So for many people suffering from migraines, research has shown that they may get some really good improvements if they get under chiropractic care. We don’t know for sure who will respond well, and how much influence the placebo effect has, but for some people when they get under chiropractic care their migraines may almost completely resolve within just a couple of months.

When you combine these results and Chiropractic's enviable safety record, what have you go to lose?


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