Headaches? Whatcha Gonna Do?
A Comprehensive Natural Approach to Alleviate Headache
By Dr. C.M. Curtis
05/07/2024
Who hasn’t had a headache? It’s a rare individual who makes it through life without having the unpleasant experience of a headache. For some, it is an occasional event, for others, it is a common curse. Moreover, there are different kinds of headaches and different causes.
As we all know, there are causes of headaches that are serious, even life-threatening. Some are organically induced, others result from trauma. I will not discuss these in this article. They are the province of emergency rooms and surgeons. However, the natural realm of healing has much to offer people who suffer from other kinds of headaches.
In dealing with headaches, as with most other health issues, identifying the cause of the problem should be the first task. Sometimes the headache sufferer is aware of what things may cause or trigger their headaches, but most of the time they are not.
It is often helpful for the sufferer to keep a journal that they write in only when they get a headache. In this journal, they will document everything they did, ate, or drank during the 12-hour period preceding the headache and at what time they did, noting also, at what time the headache started. I couldn’t count the times patients have reported back to me that they have identified the culprit in their headaches. By looking back through their journal they were able to identify a common denominator, be it a food, a drink, an emotional upset, a physical activity or the possibilities are numerous.*
Below is a list of some of the common causes or triggers of headaches (including migraines), and natural methods that have been used for managing them:
Low Blood Sugar
Eating sugar causes a spike in blood sugar levels, which can be followed by a precipitous drop. Low blood sugar can have other causes as well, such as skipping meals, going too long between meals, eating a high-carb breakfast, (eg. fruit and/or grains), causing a spike and a subsequent drop in blood sugar. Some people are more prone to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) than others. This trigger can be avoided by simple dietary measures.
A good test to see if you are one of the many people who suffer from headaches caused by low blood sugar is to eat a high-protein breakfast, and healthy protein meals, (no sugar snacks between meals) and see what happens. You may also want to see a health professional and have a 5-hour glucose tolerance test performed to evaluate your glucose tolerance status.
Problems in the Upper Cervical Spine (neck)
This is without a doubt one of the most common causes, if not THE most common cause, of headaches. And, when it comes to treating upper cervical problems Chiropractic excels. I know of no other treatment that even approaches the effectiveness of Chiropractic in correcting the cause of headaches, including, in many cases, migraines.
If you are one of the shrinking number of people who don’t believe in chiropractic, you may want to clear your mind of all the negative garbage that has been placed there by other people, and objectively and scientifically review the evidence. While you do so, keep in mind that many medical doctors now refer patients to doctors of chiropractic, and many M.D.s and nurses are chiropractic patients themselves. Hospital emergency department personnel often recommend chiropractic care to victims of spinal injuries.
Chiropractic is the largest drugless healthcare profession in the world. Millions of chiropractic adjustments are performed every day.
In the United States medicare covers chiropractic care, virtually all health insurance and auto insurances cover chiropractic care, the Veterans Administration (V.A.) hospitals have chiropractic doctors on staff, Olympic sports teams have chiropractic doctors on staff, professional sports teams also have chiropractic doctors on staff (for example, all football teams in the National Football League (NFL) employ chiropractic doctors for their players).
The chiropractic patient satisfaction rate is very high
Studies have been done, assessing the patient satisfaction rate of chiropractic patients, showing it to be very high. Research Dimensions, Inc. (RDI), a Richmond, Virginia-based firm, completed a study in December 1994, exploring the satisfaction levels of chiropractic patients in rural, medically underserved areas of the United States. The findings of the RDI study are shown below:
99 percent of the respondents indicated that they were either confident or very confident that their chiropractor had diagnosed their problem correctly;
99 percent of the respondents indicated they were satisfied, or very satisfied with the chiropractic treatment they received;
93 percent responded that their physical problem or condition had improved as a result of chiropractic care;
93 percent of those responding said that chiropractic care contributes to a healthier, more fit lifestyle;
71 percent of those responding indicated that they were taking less medication as a result of chiropractic care.
An August 2019 Study Titled Ratings of Perceived Effectiveness, Patient Satisfaction and Adverse Events Experienced by Wellness Chiropractic Patients in a Practice-based Research Network, published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice makes the following statement: “Of the so-called “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) healthcare professions, chiropractic is the largest and most regulated and has become a commonly utilized form of alternative healthcare.”
Chiropractic and Headaches
Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the benefits and safety of chiropractic adjustments. I have referenced a few of them below, in relation to headaches.
Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, Sept 24, 2001:
Efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic headache: a systematic review
“Conclusions: SMT (Spinal Manipulative Therapy) appears to have a better effect than massage for cervicogenic headache. It also appears that SMT has an effect comparable to commonly used first-line prophylactic prescription medications for tension-type headache and migraine headache.”
Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, April 2011:
Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with headache
“Conclusions: Evidence suggests that chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, improves migraine and cervicogenic headaches.”
Health SA Oct 25, 2023:
The physical impact of migraines on female chiropractic patients: A qualitative study
“The study highlighted that chiropractic treatment was favorable among the female population in improving the quality of life and reducing the severity, disability, duration of suffering, and frequency of migraines. It was revealed that chiropractic was the preferred non-pharmacological approach for migraine treatment, as it proved to be a beneficial and effective treatment for migraine pain management.”
“The findings contribute to a greater awareness of chiropractic as an effective evidence-based treatment approach for migraine pain management, which may be beneficial to migraineurs and healthcare practitioners.”
If after reading the above facts regarding chiropractic, you still choose to be a non-believer, you are doing so, not from a factual, scientific standpoint, but from an emotional standpoint. You are simply believing what you want to believe regardless of the evidence. And your mind is stuck in the past. Francis Bacon said, “Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true.”
Acupuncture and Headaches
By now, you probably know that if I were seeking professional care for headaches, my first stop would be chiropractic. But, no one ever said chiropractic gets rid of all headaches. There are causes of headaches not related to the spine. These will not respond to chiropractic adjustments. Acupuncture has been shown to be a viable treatment for headaches in many cases.
Migraines
Many people think the term migraine refers to very severe headaches. It’s true, that migraines can be severe, even debilitating, but the term refers to the type of headache, rather than the severity. Migraines can be mild, moderate, or severe in intensity.
Good News for Migraine Sufferers