If you get intense or severe head pain, it may be more than just an ordinary headache. You may have a neurological disorder such as migraines or cluster headaches. Both of these conditions are extremely painful and can be debilitating.
While migraine attacks and cluster headaches are similar, there are distinct differences. Knowing what you have can help your doctor figure out the best treatment.
Telling the Difference Between Migraines and Cluster Headaches
Migraines are much more common than cluster headaches. Some 37 million people suffer from migraines, while cluster headaches only affect 200,000 to one million people. Both migraines and cluster headaches cause severe head pain, typically on one side of the head and/or around the forehead. Beyond that, they have some distinctly different symptoms.
Usually, migraine sufferers will feel an attack coming a day or two in advance. Migraines may make you feel nauseous or cause vomiting or may cause disturbances in your vision.
The pain of a migraine headache is usually pulsing or throbbing and can last for hours to days. During an attack, the sufferer may find relief sitting still in a dark, quiet room.
Cluster headaches are sudden and can strike without warning. Many people describe the pain as being stabbed in the eye with a hot poker. It is an excruciating, stabbing pain that can last from about 15 minutes to three hours. Sufferers may get a runny nose, teary eyes, or swelling around the eyes.
Because the pain is so intense, cluster headache patients don't usually find relief by sitting quietly—they will become agitated and may move around a lot, pacing or rocking.
Cluster headaches are not isolated incidents. A patient will get one or more of these headaches each day for weeks or months. Then, the patient will go into remission for a few months, possibly a year. The clusters inevitably return though, and the cycle repeats.
How We Can Help Patients with Migraines or Cluster Headaches
Both migraines and cluster headaches are neurological conditions, often caused by a disruption of the nerve signals. Vital nerves branch out from the brain stem and wrap around your head. When there is a misalignment of the upper cervical spine—which begins just below the brain stem and runs down the neck—it can cause inflammation and swelling, nerve compression, or pinched nerves. This causes nerve signals to misfire and can cause conditions such as migraines and cluster headaches.
Dr. Gordon Elder of the Blair Chiropractic Clinic in Lubbock, Texas specializes in treating the upper cervical spine. Dr. Elder uses the Blair Chiropractic Technique, a gentle technique that does not involve the abrupt twists and cracks associated with traditional chiropractic care.
The Blair technique is gentle, allowing doctors to use a light touch thanks to a more precise diagnostic process. Blair practitioners utilize state-of-the-art 3D imaging tools to help assess the health of the spine and calculate misalignments. This allows the doctor to apply low-force pressure in exact areas for a non-invasive, safe, painless correction.
Dr. Elder's first step is to perform a screening to pinpoint any problems that may be causing nerve compression. The second step involves making corrections, paving the way for the body's natural healing processes to take over.
As the healing process continues, the nerves begin functioning properly again, bringing relief to many sufferers of migraines and cluster headaches. Many report headache episodes are fewer and farther between, and less severe in general.
The third and final step is to prevent problems in the future. Dr. Elder recommends regular chiropractic check-ups to ensure that the upper cervical spine remains in a healthy state so that problems are averted.
Don't let migraines or cluster headaches rob you of your vitality. Contact Dr. Elder to see if upper cervical care is right for you. Dr. Elder sees patients in Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, and El Paso in Texas, as well as Hobbs in New Mexico.
Published by Vic Belonogoff: A Blair Chiropractic doctor helped heal vertigo, among other conditions that Vic Belonogoff suffered from, and it gave him his life back. He continues to see an upper cervical chiropractor as a preventative measure. Vic Belonogoff is passionate about upper cervical chiropractic and how much it helps patients.