Telling the difference between a migraine and a headache can be tricky, especially if you’re a person who often suffers from what seems to be a debilitating headache. This type of throbbing pain can prevent you from continuing with your daily activities, hence it’s important to seek relief.
Today, we will explain what the difference between a migraine and a headache is, which symptoms to notice in each case, and how a migraine chiropractor in Huntsville, TX, can help you relieve and eliminate your chronic pain.
Headache: Definition, Causes and Solutions
The first thing about headaches is that nearly everybody has experienced at least one in their lifetime, although most people have had it many times. Described as a type of pain that can occur in any region of the head, a headache can appear as a sharp pain, a throbbing pain, or a dull ache. By learning about how headaches originate, its symptoms, and how to relieve them, you can prevent them from happening again.
Tension headaches occur when there is a tightening of the head and neck, due to different triggers. Even though it isn’t well understood what causes the muscle and nerve endings to tense and become so sensitive, doctors have made a list of which factors can set off a tension headache. Let’s go over them:
- Being under stress
- Not getting enough sleep
- Fatigue
- Hunger
- Experiencing caffeine withdrawal
- Abrupt cessation of medications that contain caffeine
- Abrupt weather changes
- Food and drinks, processed foods that contain monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Consuming alcohol
The most common way to combat mild headaches is with ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol), although for more severe pain it is advisable to visit a doctor so that you can find the source of it, confirm that it is a headache and not a migraine, and receive the therapy that you need by a chiropractor in Huntsville, TX, to relieve your pain.
What is a Migraine and How Can a Chiropractor Help?
A migraine, opposed to a regular headache, is considered a neurological condition and can last for several days. Although the most common group to be affected by migraine is around 10 to 40 years of age, and mostly women, anyone can experience at least one in their lifetime.
In order to recognize a migraine, many people can confuse them with a severe headache, although its triggers and symptoms vary. For this reason, it is important to take into consideration the following symptoms that indicate that we’re in the presence of a migraine:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Numbness or tingling
- Vomiting
- Sensitivity to sound and light
Experts have developed a four-phase pattern to understand how migraines progress. Here you can learn about each of these phases or stages:
Prodrome
The first phase of a migraine actually begins up to 24 hours before you experience a headache, when individuals can experience physical or mental changes, such as tiredness, thirst, neck stiffness and frequent yawning.
Aura
Although auras do not appear in all migraines, they are frequent in 1/3 of the cases. The aura is a group of sensory symptoms that act as a warning sign of a migraine headache. The aura phase can last from 5 minutes to an hour, and can even appear while having a headache.
Headache
A migraine headache lasts between 4 to 72 hours, causing severe pain, which usually worsens with movement, light, or sound. Sickness and vomiting aren’t rare during this phase.
Postdrome
The postdrome stage usually lasts for a few hours up to 48 hours. Symptoms feel similar to a hangover, which is why the postdrome phase is known as a migraine hangover.
Alleviate your migraine pain with chiropractic adjustments in Huntsville, Texas, today! By relieving the pressure on your nervous system, you can get back to your everyday life. These adjustments can promote spinal health and help in managing chronic pain due to migraines.
Joint & Spine: Your Migraine Chiropractor in Huntsville, TX
Receive the best treatment from the 2023 Best Chiropractor in Huntsville, Texas, by calling us at 936-295-1777 or completing the form. At the Joint & Spine Center, led by Dr. Jeffrey Pruski, we offer advanced chiropractic care to promote spinal health and alleviate and eliminate your chronic pain caused by migraines.
Your journey to a pain-free life begins today! Schedule an appointment at Joint & Spine and feel like yourself again.
