Migraines and Cluster Headaches: What Is The Difference?

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.

Migraine Headaches: A Natural and Alternative Treatment Method

What is a Migraine?

A migraine is a neurological disorder that is characterized by severe throbbing and pulsing pain in the head. While outwardly similar to an everyday headache, migraines are significantly more severe, often resulting in debilitating secondary symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.

The exact causes and triggers of migraines are unknown; however, it is believed that a combination of factors — such as stress, brain chemistry, genetics, certain foods, and lack of sleep — may be responsible.

Signs and of Symptoms of Migraines 

Given that migraines can be triggered by so many different things, the signs, symptoms, and severity of a migraine will differ on an individual basis. Typical symptoms include light sensitivity, nausea and vomiting, throbbing pain in one side or area of the head (often behind the eyes), and sensitivity to sound. 

Some people also experience a sensory disturbance known as an aura. This involves seeing flashing lights, losing vision in one or both eyes, and experiencing tingling in the hands or face. 

How the Upper Cervical Spine Affects Migraines

While over-the-counter medication can help to ease the symptoms of migraines, this approach does not treat the underlying cause. The Blair Chiropractic Clinic focuses on the upper cervical spine to address the root cause of your migraines. 

The upper cervical spine is a set of stacked vertebrae that connect the base of the skull to the rest of the spinal column. This segment of the spine plays a key role in supporting and protecting the brainstem, the connecting link between the brain and the spinal cord. Due to this positioning, a misalignment in the vertebrae of the upper cervical spine can trigger a cascade of neurological events, resulting in symptoms like headaches, neck pain, and tingling in the hands and arms. 

Left untreated, misalignment-induced pressure on the brainstem can disrupt the flow of nerves between the spinal cord and brain, leading to abnormal brain activity, and ultimately, the onset of migraines.

How Our Upper Cervical Treatment for Migraines Works 

Our migraine specialist, Dr. Gordon Elder, is an expert in an adjustment process known as the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique. This technique prioritizes the health of the upper cervical spine, identifying and targeting spinal misalignments to restore healthy position and function to the spinal column and surrounding nerves.  

When treating migraines, Dr. Elder employs a two-step approach to identifying and healing the condition. First, patients will undergo a 25–30-minute screening process to determine if a vertebral misalignment is causing nerve pressure. You’ll receive a brief report on the results of the screening process and have an opportunity to ask Dr. Elder any questions about your spinal health. 

Next, Dr. Elder will use a series of gentle, low-force adjustment techniques to realign any misaligned vertebrae to their natural position, thereby allowing the body’s natural healing mechanisms to restore and maintain proper nerve flow. This process typically involves the use of advanced 3-D imaging diagnostic techniques to determine the exact location of any misalignments in the upper cervical spine.

Following the initial adjustment, patients will return for regular, gradually spaced-out check-ups to ensure their adjustment has stayed in place for 3 months. Over the course of 3-5 months, most patients average between 10 and 15 appointments with Dr. Elder.  

If migraines are severely affecting your everyday life, get in touch today to speak with Dr. Elder about the health of your upper cervical spine. Located in Lubbock, Texas, Blair Chiropractic Clinic also services Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, El Paso in Texas, and 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.

Relief from migraines, vertigo, trigeminal neuralgia, backpain and more in Luboock.

Actual Patients tell their stories of improvement from migraines, vertigo, nerve pain, and back pain after starting Blair Upper Cervical Care in Lubbock.

I’ve been having migraine headaches for thirty-something years now. 

I have had back problems my entire life. The nerve pain got so severe that I couldn’t sleep at night. 

The one and only adjustment I’ve had, I’ve only had mild headaches, my vertigo had gone away. 

I’m able to climb roofs, do everything I need to, physically, and play with my kids. 

With no jerking, popping, or twisting, we seek to find the problem, restoring the body’s ability to heal itself since 1949. 

to find out if BlAIR upper cervical may help you or to schedule a screening, call: 806-747-2735