Headaches are one of the most common health complaints. It is estimated that for about 20% of us that are under a “stress overload”, the headaches are chronic and recurrent. What causes headache? For the most part, headaches are a result of a biochemical stress (such as caffeine withdrawal), psychological stress (such as
being too self-critical) or a physical stress (like muscle tension) that the body has been unable to properly adapt to. Surprisingly, a headache is not a brain ache. The pain of sensitive structures of the head are the culprits.
What Causes Headaches?
While stress, certain foods and alcohol may be culprits, a frequent and overlooked cause of headaches may be the misalignment and malfunction of spinal bones and nerves in the upper neck. When spinal nerves and associated structures are compressed, stretched or otherwise irritated, they can produce abnormal body function with headaches, a common effect of that abnormal, stress induced state. While over the counter drugs may cover up these warning signs that the body is malfunctioning, they do nothing to correct the underlying cause of the headache or the associated bodily malfunction.
What about prescription drugs for headaches? Do they treat the cause of the problem? Prescription drugs are no different. The 2001 Duke University Headache Evidence Report was prepared by 25 professionals who reviewed over 2,500 headache studies. They found that chiropractic was shown to produce “markedly superior results” over amitriptyline (sold as Elavil, Tryptanol, Endep, and Elatrol). Amitriptyline is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for headaches. The study also noted that chiropractic care produced “sustained improvement in headache frequency and severity”, while those who took the prescription drugs returned to the same condition as before.