Bethesda Chiropractic Care for Migraine Pain

Migraine pain can be severe and last up to 72 hours for some sufferers. Common warning signs are nausea, and an aura or visual disturbance before a migraine sets in. Many that suffer from this condition use medications and prescription drugs to manage their pain, but often get little or no relief from their migraines. Some are turning to alternative therapies to manage their migraines and chiropractic treatment is one of the methods they are turning to.

Chiropractic physicians use a holistic approach to address pain issues. They use spinal manipulation, massage, and they adjust the soft tissues of the joints, especially in the back area, but is this really effective against migraines?

A study conducted in 2000, showed that chiropractic treatment may offer benefits for those suffering from migraines. The study looked at 127 patients that had problems with migraines. The sample was split into two groups with one group receiving inactive treatment and the other group got chiropractic treatment where the person was treated for misalignment and swelling of the vertebrae. The study showed that those who receive the chiropractic treatment had less pain and less frequent migraines after two months of treatment. They also saw less need for migraine medications. One on five form the group also had a 90% reduction in the number of times they got a migraine and 50% saw an improvement in the severity of their migraine.

Recent studies have shown that spinal manipulation and other chiropractic care improve migraines and cerviocogenic headaches. Research was done on headaches and migraine treatment through chiropractic treatment via controlled clinical trials. The research showed that massage and spinal manipulation helped those that had frequent or chronic migraines and that those that had tension style headaches didn’t respond to the treatment.

Chiropractic treatment can be seen as a support system for traditional care in the treatment of migraines along with regular doctor visits to your physician and not as a cure for migraines or the main way to treat them.

While using alternative methods of treatment such as chiropractic care can help sufferers to gain more control over their migraines, it should be treated as another form of support or extra help, instead of completely overlooking conventional medical care. For further information contact the team at Montgomery County Chiropractic located in Bethesda.