Working With Your Chiropractor to Reduce Headaches

While many people associate chiropractors with treating only back pain, many are adept at treating conditions throughout the body. One area of focus is headaches, which come in many forms and stem from various complaints throughout the body. If you frequently suffer from headaches, it's worth learning how chiropractic services can help and what you can do to help yourself.

Focus on the tension in your shoulders 

The muscles that stretch between your neck and your shoulders work closely with one another, which can cause certain types of headaches if you're constantly tensing them. One key culprit is your sternocleidomastoid, which chiropractors often find is knotted and tight when assessing patients. To reduce your tension, tune into your body a few times each day to see if you're holding your shoulders high or bunching them together. Try using breathing exercises while you bring them down. Although this won't prevent you from holding your shoulders tight immediately, continued practice will help.

Treat your body with kindness

Although your muscles and the alignment of your spine can both influence whether you experience headaches, your lifestyle factors play a significant role too. For example, not getting enough sleep, eating too much salt and dehydration all play a role in increasing your risk of headaches. Additionally, habits such as smoking and consuming too much alcohol can play their part. In addition to seeing your chiropractor, take some time to review whether you're treating your body with kindness. Incorporate good habits into your daily routine and ditch the bad ones.

Use a chiropractor to address tight muscles and knots

In addition to addressing the issue yourself, you may want to use chiropractic services. After an assessment and once they've discussed your history, your chiropractor may choose to manipulate your spine. However, they can also introduce the use of different exercises, as well as tools such as massage balls. Many chiropractic professionals are adept at assessing the nutritional causes of headaches too. For example, if they detect that you're not eating enough Vitamin B12, they can provide you with advice for changing this. Finally, many will also offer advice on posturing yourself correctly so that you're not placing too much strain on the joints that can refer pain towards your head and cause headache-like symptoms.

Most headaches don't arise because of serious causes. With a little self-care and treatment from the right professionals, you can address yours swiftly.