Do you personally or do you know someone that suffers from headaches? Join Dr. Joe this Wednesday night at 7pm for a free Headaches 101 webinar. You don't have to be an active patient, or even local to Ames to attend.
Here is the link to register: Headaches 101
One of the most common and changeling complaints that can occur in people are headaches. Reports show that 9/10 Americans are expected to experience a headache like event at some point in their lives. Headaches are costly not only to our health and well being but result in approximately a $25 billion loss in productivity due time off, workers comp, and paid sick leave.
One of the main difficulties with treating headache patients is determining what is causing their headaches. The gamut of causes of headaches is over >200 and ranges from simple easy to treat causes like lack of sleep, dehydration, and poor posture to severe conditions associated with tumors and strokes. There can also be significant overlap between the different causes of headaches which further makes it difficult to assess the true etiology.
Thankfully while headaches are complex, most of the common causes have headaches have associated clinical findings that can help us determine what the cause is. Classic examples of this include a pattern of hat band like headache pain seen in patients with tension type headaches, severe eye pain seen in males with cluster headaches, and the presence of a visual aura often preceding classic migraines in female patients.
The of the more common causes of headaches I have seen in practice is due to poor posture and muscles tightness within the neck that can manifest as a tension type headache. These are very common and thankfully very responsive to conservative treatments including acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, and cervical blocks.