What to do with those "Normal Headaches"

The BigPictureWith Dr Mark Kennedy What to do with those“Normal Headaches" Have you seen those advertisements? You know the ones, where they offer a pain killer as a remedy for normal headaches. These advertisements have been incredibly successful in brainwashing many of us into reaching for the painkillers automatically as soon as we feel a headache coming on. This very effective advertising has been so successful that people say some strange things.Normal headaches?When we ask if a patient suffers from headaches they will often reply, “only the normal amount.” Well how many is that? One thing is for sure; whoever or whatever created this amazing organism we call the human body did not design our heads to have ‘normal’ headaches.However much we may raise our eyebrows at the commonly held belief that headaches are ‘normal’, the truth is that we continue to hear the phrase “I don’t get any more headaches that the man on the street”. Society in general has been well and truly indoctrinated into believing that it is quite normal to suffer from head pain and that the way to deal with it is to reach for a painkiller instead of looking for true health and prevention.Headaches come in many forms and can have a massive impact on our lives. Patients have come to us for help having not worked for years because of debilitating headaches. It is one thing to take a painkilling tablet once every now and again but if you need to take them more often then it’s important to find out why.What is it that causes headaches? There are some obvious causes such as excess alcohol, stress and bad posture but very often the cause is malfunction of the spinal bones in the neck and upper back. This is sometimes caused by nothing more than the things that we do as a part of our daily lives. When these bones are misaligned pressure can be put on sensitive nerves causing painful and sometimes debilitating headaches. Pain is a signal to tell us that something is wrong. Headaches are a form of warning sign. Painkillers can cover up this warning signal in the same way that taking the batteries out of a smoke alarm would stop it making a noise but wouldn’t put out the fire!What can be done?Painkillers may give temporary relief but they do nothing to address the underlying cause of the problem. Finding out the cause is the only route to long term relief from painful and debilitating headaches. In a thorough consultation and examination, including X-rays if deemed appropriate, a doctor of chiropractic can often find the underlying cause and through a schedule of chiropractic adjustments, correct the cause of those headaches.Neck injuries caused by a fall, sports injuries or motor accidents can also cause spinal misalignment leading to severe long term headaches that can require a series of chiropractic adjustments in order to remedy the condition.Whatever the cause of your headaches, painkillers are rarely if ever the solution. If you or any of your family, friends or work colleagues suffer from recurring headaches we would recommend that you consult a chiropractor as soon as possible.Simply call us to make an appointment as a new patient today and make those headaches a thing of the past.Mark Kennedy BSc. (Chiro)01962 843242