Migraines are a common ailment that affects people of all ages and backgrounds. When you have migraines, you may experience pain in one or both sides of your head, nausea, blurred vision, and sensitivity to light. If left unmanaged, migraines can lead to physical problems like neck pain or dizziness. There’s no cure for this condition. But you can potentially manage the symptoms with the help of your physician or Dr. Vivek Soham, a San Diego migraine chiropractor leading Nimbus Brain and Spine.
Symptoms and Triggers to Watch Out For
There isn’t a specific test that helps doctors diagnose migraine attacks. Instead, physicians rely on checking the hallmark symptoms of migraine attacks, including:
A headache that lasts for at least 24 hours (with or without fever)
Severe pain on one side of the head, neck, and face
Nausea or vomiting
Light sensitivity
Sound sensitivity
Ringing in the ears
Mood changes, including depression and irritability
Fatigue, which may last for days after a migraine occurs
Neck pain or stiffness
Sensitivity to smells that are generally not bothersome
Your doctor might also ask you questions to further characterize your migraine episodes and determine what type of migraine you experience. Some of the questions physicians ask include the following:
Does stress trigger your migraine attacks?
Does loud noise cause them?
Do certain foods make them worse?
Are you in your period?
Migraines typically start after exposure to triggers like diet modifications, weather fluctuations, and changes in sleep patterns. Environmental factors like pesticides and toxins may also cause migraines when they enter the body through your skin or mucous membranes. And hormones can sometimes be responsible for triggering headaches in some people; this is especially true for pregnant women.
The answers you will provide to your doctor will help determine what type of migraine you suffer from and the best form of remedy you should seek.
Get to Know What Migraine You Have
Before even thinking of managing your migraine, you must know what type you are experiencing. Here’s a short list of the commonly reported migraine types and how they affect patients.
Common Migraine (Migraine without aura)
Migraine without aura accounts for about 70 to 80 percent of all reported cases of migraines. This type of migraine is often called “common” or “typical” migraine because it occurs in people with no neurological symptoms such as confusion, speech problems, or vision problems.
Migraine without aura can occur at any age, but the younger you are when symptoms first appear, the more likely it will be that your condition will progress into a more severe form over time.
Classic migraine (Migraine with aura)
The second type of migraine, the migraine with aura, is the one that most people think of when they think of “migraine.” It usually causes aura—a set of sensory symptoms that precedes a headache. The most common sensory auras that affect migraineurs include visual disturbances and tingling sensations in the hands or feet.
The aura often happens just before you get your first headache symptom (the primary attack). However, it may also occur throughout the day if you have multiple attacks within 24 hours. You might have a complex central aura if it lasts longer than 30 minutes. This means that you might have an underlying neurological problem!
Acute Migraine
If your migraine reoccurs after some weeks and months sporadically, you might have developed an acute migraine. This kind of migraine causes abrupt recurrent headache accompanied by a stiff neck, fever, confusion, double vision, and weakness in any part of the body.
Chronic Migraine
If your migraine symptoms last or recurs at least 15 days a month for three months, you might have chronic migraines. Chronic migraines are not necessarily a bad thing; in fact, they can be managed and even prevented.
You can potentially find relief by taking preventive medication or making a few lifestyle changes that may help ease chronic migraine symptoms. We suggest avoiding foods with high levels of tyramine. Additionally, you might find it helpful to limit your alcohol and caffeine consumption.
You can also try consulting with a San Diego migraine chiropractor like Dr. Soham. After all, chronic migraines can sometimes indicate that something is amiss in your cervical spine. It’s possible that your upper neck bones (C1 and C2 vertebrae) have shifted by a small degree and compressed or irritated nearby tissues like your brainstem and trigeminal nerve.
Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care For Migraine
Chiropractic adjustments focused on the C1 and C2 neck bones can relieve migraine symptoms by restoring the proper alignment of the head and spine. This is because misalignment of the spine can cause several effects on the nervous system, including poor blood flow, brainstem irritation, and increased inflammation.
Essentially, a San Diego migraine chiropractor aims to address the problems by improving blood flow and alleviating the pressure on the facet joints – the connective tissues found along your spinal column that may be responsible for causing some migraines. Studies explain that the facet joints can get damaged and trigger cervical spine misalignments during an injury or illness such as arthritis or osteoporosis (a bone disease).
By providing carefully calculated upper cervical chiropractic adjustments, your migraine chiropractor can provide you with much-needed relief from your episodes. Over time, upper cervical care can also help you fix your posture and allow your nervous system to heal and recover from previously sustained injuries.
Find a Trusted San Diego Migraine Chiropractor
Suppose you are worried about your migraine situation and prefer for it not to progress any worse. In that case, you might want to try upper cervical chiropractic with an accredited and trusted San Diego migraine chiropractor.
Dr. Vivek Soham, the founder of Nimbus Brain and Spine, is dedicated to serving and providing solutions for patients suffering from migraines and other conditions that stem from spinal misalignment or nerve compression.
Nimbus Brain and Spine is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 am to 6 pm and by appointment on Saturdays. You can reach us via phone at (858) 432-3072, email, or online form.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Soham, call our San Diego office at (858) 432-3072.
If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.
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