A staggering 1 billion people worldwide suffer from migraines, making it the 3rd most prevalent illness in the world.  If you’ve ever had a head pain, you’d know that it’s not just a really bad headache. A migraine episode comes with a host of other symptoms, including nausea or vomiting, dizziness, and extreme sensitivity to sound, light, and smell.  Poor sleep can also be associated with migraines that are both more frequent and more severe.  This can be due to several factors, including added stress, environmental changes, and various types of medications. Implementing these 5 tips might help you get a better (and much needed) night of sleep:

1. Use your bed only for sleeping.  Avoid reading, eating, watching TV, or listening to music in bed.
2. Use visualization and relaxation techniques to shorten the length of time it takes you to fall asleep.
3. Schedule a consistent bedtime each night, even on your days off, that will allow for 8 hours of time in bed.
4. Don’t take naps during the day – they can make sleeping at night more difficult.
5. Have your last meal of the day at least 4 hours before bedtime, and limit fluids within 2 hours of bedtime.

Going Beyond Migraine Symptom Management

The chances are that if you’ve been dealing with head pain for any length of time, you have tried a multitude of treatment options.  Perhaps some of them have even provided a measure of temporary relief.  What we do here at Crowder Specific Chiropractic is help sufferers understand the root cause of their condition.  Upper cervical chiropractic is concerned with the uppermost vertebra in the neck, the atlas.  The atlas forms a protective ring around one of the most critical areas of our central nervous system, the brainstem.  If the atlas misaligns, even by a small amount, it can place abnormal stress, pressure, and strain on the tissues of the brainstem.  This can compromise the body’s ability to function normally, and can be the underlying cause of the symptoms.

Many patients find their way to our office in their search for natural care that doesn’t involve medications (and their side effects) and more invasive procedures.  Upper cervical chiropractic is gentle, safe, and effective at relieving the root cause of many people’s head pain.  Results with upper cervical care are often longer lasting since it goes beyond mere symptom management.

References:

https://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/
https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/living-with-migraines/life-with-headachemigraine/sleep-insomnia-and-migrainge/

To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Crowder, call our McKinney office at 972-449-5845. You can also click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.

Do you suffer from the condition known as vertigo? This form of dizziness if often described by patients as the feeling that the world is spinning around them. Really it describes any false sensation of movement, from the idea that the things around a person are moving to the sensation that the person is moving while stationary. What are some of the underlying issues that result in vertigo and where can you turn to for drug-free help?

Situations That lead to Vertigo

There are many conditions that have vertigo as a symptom as well as many other vertigo triggers. Here are just a few.

• Vitamin Deficiency – Particularly B12 is vital to balance. A lack of it can also can result in less blood reaching the brain due to blood pressure problems.
• Migraines – A Vestibular migraine particularly affects the body’s balance system. However, about 4 in 10 migraines sufferers deal with spinning regardless of the type of migraine.
• Motion – Spinning in a circle really fast can cause spinning (just ask anyone who has ever played Pin the Tail on the Donkey). A long boat trip (a cruise, for example) can also leave a person with a sensation of movement for hours or days after returning to land. It could also result from a motion as simple as getting up too quickly.
• Meniere’s Disease – While this condition is fairly rare, vertigo is a primary symptom. Most sufferers are between the ages of 40 and 60.

To learn more about the connection between head and neck injuries and vertigo, download our complimentary e-book by clicking the image below.

This is by no means a conclusive list of causes, and some are more serious than others. You may be surprised to learn that many cases of vertigo are the result of neck trauma.

Whiplash and Vertigo

A few years ago, a study was conducted involving 139 Meniere’s patients. Each had a history of whiplash, mostly from car accidents. 136 of the patients responded to upper cervical care (3 quit the study after only 6 weeks), showing the relationship between vertigo and an upper cervical subluxation. After just 6 weeks the average intensity of patient symptoms had been reduced to a third of what it had been at the outset of the study. After two years, patients were still seeing benefits and a continued decline in symptom severity.  

If you have suffered head or neck trauma and are now experiencing vertigo, let us show you what upper cervical chiropractic can do for you.

To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Crowder, call our McKinney office at 972-449-5845. You can also click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.

Often, the reason behind vertigo has to do with bacteria that causes inflammation and swelling of the vestibular nerve. This is called vestibular neuritis, also known as Labyrinthitis. The vestibular nerve is responsible for balance and for keeping your body in control. Therefore, when it is affected, it can lead to episodes of vertigo. These attacks can come on suddenly and can cause a single spinning that does not come back, a series of episodes, or a condition that can last from 3 to 6 weeks in duration.

What symptoms are associated with vestibular neuritis?

• Vertigo
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• A previous upper respiratory infection

To learn more about the connection between head and neck injuries and vertigo, download our complimentary e-book by clicking the image below.

Bacteria and Vertigo

How does the ear get infected with bacteria in the first place? This may happen more easily if a person has a cold or the flu, but this is not always the case. Here are a few theories:

• The herpes virus can cause an infection in the vestibular ganglion.
• The blood supply to the tissue of the ear may be restricted causing acute localized ischemia.
• The neuronal input between the ears may become imbalanced.

How Upper Cervical Chiropractic Can Help Vertigo

Upper cervical chiropractic can help vertigo patients due to the fact that a misalignment of just ¼ of a millimeter in the upper neck can lead to problems throughout the entire body, including vertigo. A misalignment here hinders communication between the brain and the body. It can also affect the nerves that connect to the ear causing them to relay improper signals about where the body is located. All of this is the perfect environment for vertigo to occur.

By using a gentle technique to produce long lasting corrections, the body can begin to heal itself using its own natural restorative properties. Once the top two bones of the neck are back in position, and the body begins functioning at its optimum once again, many patients report seeing the symptoms of vertigo decrease, and some see them dissipate entirely.

To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Crowder call our McKinney office at 972-449-5845. You can also click the button below.

To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Crowder, call our McKinney office at 972-449-5845. You can also click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.