Headache and migraine relief are something sufferers can be frantic to find. Auto accidents could heighten the intensity of either if you already have them and even cause them if you didn’t before. Unfortunately, many health care providers too often offer nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids, both of which can be addictive. The recovery time from auto accident injuries is sometimes lengthy. The prolonged use of drugs to gain headache and migraine relief raises your risks of getting rid of one problem only to gain another.
Residents of Elmhurst, Illinois, who have recently been injured in an auto accident have a better option. The Auto Accident Pain Relief Center of Illinois in Elmhurst offers comprehensive chiropractic treatment for headaches and migraines without the use of potentially harmful drugs or invasive surgery. Chiropractic care focuses on healing the body parts that are interconnected with the source of your headache and migraine issues. For headache and migraine relief that is both natural and effective, contact our center in Elmhurst and get the treatment you deserve.
How an Auto Accident Can Aggravate or Cause Headaches and Migraines
It doesn’t only take hitting your head in an auto accident to cause headaches or migraines. Still, either is one of the most common later-onset injuries following a wreck. They can also be one of the longest-lasting and disabling, taking months or years in some cases for total headache and migraine relief. The cause can be any of several reasons that stem from your accident. Here is a look at the most common that are treated with chiropractic methods.
Reasons That Do Not Involve Direct Head Trauma
The body is amazingly complex yet simplistic in its design. All of its parts work together for the good of the whole, and an injury in one region can cause problems in another. Patients often come in for chiropractic treatment for headaches and migraines and are surprised at their symptoms, having no other injuries.
Headaches as a result of whiplash
Whiplash is common during an auto accident. A sudden stop from a collision can force the head and neck backward and forward abruptly. This applies significant strain to the neck muscles and ligaments. The soft tissue in the area is also strained and damaged. A whiplash headache occurs when the neck muscles and ligaments get strained by the sudden forced movement of the head and neck (forward and backward). This jerking action may strain the soft tissue. All of that strain and injury can give you headaches, most likely days or weeks after the crash.
Other symptoms of whiplash include:
Neck pain or stiffness in the neck
Visual aura, migraine aura (seeing flashes of light in your vision)
Dizziness
Fatigue or drowsiness
Decreased concentration levels/memory problems
Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
Occipital neuralgia headaches or pinched nerve headaches
Pinched nerves can cause headaches. The force and jarring motion of a collision can compress spinal nerves at their roots or herniate a disc. The compression or herniated disk can pinch the upper cervical (neck) nerve roots or irritate the greater occipital nerve (the nerve at the base of your skull).
When one or both of these nerves are pinched, you can also experience these symptoms from the bottom of the skull and up through the back of the head, including:
Acute pain
Tenderness when touching
A burning sensation
A tingling sensation
Reasons Which Are a Direct Result of Trauma to the Head
Bumps to the head and jarring to the brain can have long-lasting effects on headaches and migraines. Here are some of the most common:
Concussions
Concussions are a mild form of traumatic brain injury. While it doesn’t require a bump on the head to get a concussion – whiplash or other jolting movements can bounce the brain against the inside of the skull – a knock to the head is the most common culprit. Migraine headaches related to concussion can have other associated symptoms, including:
Nausea
Vomiting
Sensitivity to sounds/lights
Dizziness/confusion
Ringing in the ears
Skull fracture
It should be no surprise that a fracture to the skull can (and probably will) result in headaches or migraines. In terrible cases, you may also experience slurred speech and seizures.
Is There a Difference Between Headaches and Migraines?
Those seeking headache and migraine relief after an auto accident may wonder if there is a difference between the two. The World Health Organization has good educational material to show the differences. There is some overlapping as migraines are a primary headache disorder, though there is variation in the symptoms and causes:
Migraines are typically more severe
Occur generally on one side of the head
Are accompanied by nausea
Caused by the activation of a mechanism deep in the brain that releases pain-producing inflammatory substances around the nerves and blood vessels of the head
Chiropractic Treatment for Headaches and Migraines
A chiropractic expert at the Auto Accident Pain Relief Center of Illinois is best qualified to determine whether you suffer from headaches or migraines. Either is painful and debilitating, and sufferers understandably care more about relief.
Chiropractic methods can give headache and migraine relief. Chiropractic treatment for headaches and migraines focuses on relieving pressure on muscles and nerves. With manual adjustments and re-aligning the spinal structure, healing to the muscles and neck is better effectuated. Corrective exercises and massage can also improve circulation for better mobility and functioning.
Many chiropractic techniques can relieve pressure on discs and pinched nerves. Concussion management will help the brain to heal faster and entirely after a traumatic injury. All chiropractic methods can be further enhanced with ergonomic improvements that the experts at the Auto Accident Pain Relief Center will educate you on to apply at home and in your working environment.
Contact Us for a Better Quality of Care
Headache and migraine relief after an auto accident is possible without drugs or surgery. Chiropractic treatments are a better alternative as they focus on healing the root causes of your headaches and migraines. If you’ve had an auto accident recently and live in the Chicagoland area including, Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard, Oak Brook, Bensenville, Westchester, Bellwood, Berkeley, Stone Park, Northlake, Melrose Park and Chicago and are experiencing headaches, neck pain, nausea, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, shoulder pain, numbness and tingling in the arms or legs, disc herniation or jaw pain, now is the time to contact us 24/7 at 800-862-5914 and begin to recover safely and fully at getmeoutofpain.com.
