Whoever has ever had to endure a migraine headache knows how debilitating and painful it could be. In many cases, there will not appear to be much that can be done to alleviate the discomfort. Fortunately, many people have found a safe, effective drug free method of treatment for migraine headaches through chiropractic care. Previously, many traditional health care practitioners did not believe chiropractor’s and their patient’s claims that migraine relief was possible with chiropractic treatment.
New Research
However new research affirms that patients really do show considerable improvement of their migraine headache symptoms when seen for therapy by a chiropractor. Migraine headaches differ by the patient and are sometimes confusing to diagnose but among the most common migraine symptoms are: pain on one side of the head, throbbing/pulsating pain, nausea or vomiting, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, and blurred vision.
Once the headache is at its strongest many sufferers can only find a degree of comfort by lying down in a dark, quiet room with a cold compress to their forehead. Of course this can lead to a great disruption in a person’s ability to work, care for their family and enjoy a normal ability to engage in recreational activities.
Podrome
Some folks experience what is called a prodrome before the actual onset of a headache. Prodrome symptoms for some might be blurred vision or a loss of peripheral vision. Others may feel a tingling sensation of the head or body. Still others may experience a sound sensation like a fluttering. There are other types of symptoms of prodrome but whatever one experiences the person knows the prodrome is a precursor to a migraine headache soon developing.
Exciting recent research has revealed that there can be help for many with this significant condition. Dr. Peter Tuchin performed a study as part of his PhD program at MacQuarrie University that showed positive results for those experiencing migraine headaches treated by doctors of chiropractic.
Let’s see…
The study involved 123 people who had chronic migraine headaches– the average length of time they’d had migraines was 18 years. Those involved in the study were divided into two groups. The first was a treatment group who received chiropractic care. The second was a control group who were told they were receiving a form of electrical physical therapy. The research study spanned six months.
Both groups kept a record of their migraines for the full six months; noting how often they got headaches, how severe they were, how long they lasted and the amount of medications needed. The findings of the study showed that around 22% of the patients had a substantial reduction– meaning that more than 60% of their symptoms were reduced during the course of treatment. Another 50% had a noticeable improvement– meaning the frequency of the migraines was less, the length of time was shorter and they used less headache medication.
Conclusion
These findings are remarkable when considering the improvement seen with a chronic group. Dr. Tuchin also noted that reducing the quantity of headache medicine utilized by patients is important as these are very strong drugs which have many side effects.