One particular issue that I find surprisingly pervasive is the number of people in the community suffering from headaches on a very regular basis. Unfortunately, I hear things like:
“They have been going on for so long, I have almost gotten used to them.”
“I can feel a headache coming on. If I catch it early enough, and take a pill, I might feel a little better.”
“I get them all the time, so that’s normal, right?”
In short, just because they happen ALL the time, you have gotten used to them, or you have to take medication everyday, does NOT make it normal. It makes them common, but certainly NOT ok.
So lets talk a bit about how some of these headaches may happen. In our world of technology, computers, and desk work, many people sit for several hours every day without taking the time to move around as much as the body would like. By sitting at a computer, for example, there are some postural issues that can happen over the course of time. When you sit at a desk looking at a computer screen, your head can move forward so that it is no longer centered over the rest of your spine or shoulders.
Chiropractors call this “forward head posture,” or “anterior head carriage.” Think about this as a physics problem: If you hold a weight further away from a fulcrum, there is more stress on the lever (your neck). If the weight is closer to the fulcrum, there is less stress. When this forward head posture happens for many hours a day, it creates tension on the muscles that attach between the base of the back of your skull and the bottom of your neck and shoulders. Not only that, over long periods of time, your body will start to remain in this posture structurally, which can cause decrease nerve flow from your neck to areas such as your eyes, nose, throat, shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers.
With this chronic postural abnormality present, misalignments in the spine called subluxation are common as well. As stated earlier, when misalignments in the neck are present, there is decrease nerve flow to specific areas in the body. People with forward head posture not only experience headaches, but frequently report poor quality sleep, sinus infections, increased emotional stress, shoulder tension, mid back tension, or numbness/tingling in the arms and hands.
Chiropractors can locate the problem, and help by correcting subluxations in order for proper nerve flow to be restored. With proper nerve flow restored, you can begin to start functioning better. If you function better, you can work, sleep, breathe, and feel better just like you are supposed to! Over the course of time, structural changes can occur as well to help relieve some more stress from the spine. People in the community see great results with Chiropractic care, and I look forward to being able to help in any way that I can.
Remember: just because it happens all the time, does not make it “normal,” and don’t let these issues go on for so long that they get in the way of living your life. The longer something is going on, the longer it may take to correct it. Don’t wait until something becomes debilitating before you decide to do something about it. Take preventative actions for your health, and get your spine checked today!
