Upper Cervical Care Condition of the Week: Migraine Headaches

     Hey everyone.  Over the past few weeks we have been talking about what Upper Cervical Care is and how it can be beneficial to you, your children, and everyone with a nervous system!  Although I spend a lot of time educating folks on how the brainstem is the switchboard operator that routes all the messages from the brain to the body and vice versa, it is sometimes hard to grasp how correcting inflammation at the level of the brainstem can help specific conditions and diseases.  I often tell people about what I do and how it promotes WHOLE body health and wellness.  Then, the next question is, “Yeah Yeah Doc, but can it help with __________?”  

     Mostly every time I say “Of Course!”  I go on to explain how a certain ailment can be corrected or healed NATURALLY if we remove the interference at the brainstem.  With that said, I will be attacking certain conditions and symptoms throughout the next several weeks.  If anyone has a specific problem/condition and they would like to find out how Upper Cervical Care can help, please email us at ucwilmington@gmail.com, and I will be more than happy to address that in the next health newsletter.  So, for today, the condition of the week is MIGRAINE HEADACHES!

     How can a misalignment in the upper neck be causing migraine headaches?

     This can be explained by a simple physiology lesson.  The main vessels that supply our brain with blood are the internal carotid arteries and the vertebral arteries.  During a migraine attack, these vessels become narrow and decrease the blood to the brain.  Therefore, the receptors, called baroreceptors, located throughout the arteries, tell the arterial walls to expand and oppose the narrowing action.  

     When the arteries expand, they compress the nerves that attach to them and consequently release chemicals of pain sensation.  This is where the pain comes from.  Although the pain is in your head, the nerves that are attached to the arteries supplying your brain with blood are being irritated and inflamed, along with the brainstem itself which is what directly communicates with the baroreceptors constantly.

     That’s just from a physiological and biochemical perspective.  Basic Anatomy explains it as plain as day. The internal carotid arteries sit anterior (in front) of the atlas vertebrae (the top bone in our neck that holds our head up, or C1).  If there is any rotation of this bone whatsoever, it can put adverse stress on one side of the artery.  That’s just the internal carotids.  How about the vertebral arteries??  It’s estimated that these two arteries supply about 40% of our brain’s blood supply.  These arteries happen to RUN DIRECTLY THROUGH THE TOP TWO BONES.  No, literally, they do.  See the picture below.

     So, if any of the top two bones in our neck are malpositioned in any direction, even by a few millimeters, this can be detrimental to your health by affecting the very important blood flow going to your brain.

     Nearly 1 in 4 US households includes someone that battles migraine headaches.  American employers lose more than $13 billion each year as a result of 113,000,000 lost work days due to migraine headaches. The typical approaches to help with Migraines simply don’t work.  Different drugs such as pain relievers, triptans, ergots, opioids, and glucocorticoids don’t correct the problem.  They’re simply putting a band-aid on it and prolong the pain until the next migraine attack comes around.  As a preventive measure, folks are often prescribed anti-depressants and anti-seizure medications to help with prevention of migraines. REALLY?!?!? Why?  Is your blood chemistry low in anti-depressant pills?  Or is your body deficient in anti-seizure medications?  REALLY?!?  Before you introduce a foreign, man-made, synthetic toxin into your body, be sure to ask your physician why you are taking some the drugs they have you on.  With Upper Cervical Care, we look to the CAUSE of the problem of many health concerns, which include migraines! Seymour Diamond, M.D., Executive Director of the National Headache Foundation, has announced that new imaging techniques now allow scientists to identify what they believe to be a cause of migraines: a malfunctioning brainstem.  It took them a while to come to the conclusion that Upper Cervical doctors have been saying for decades, but researchers and Medical Doctors cannot deny the fact that the brainstem regulates everything. Glad we’re finally on the same page.

     Upper Cervical doctors have the means to restore the brainstem to normal function and eliminate the true cause of migraines.  If you or a loved one is suffering from Migraine headaches, get to the cause of the problem.  Give us a call, all hope is never lost.  That’s why we’re here.  (910) 769-2293.

Praying for a healthier North Carolina,

Dr. Josh

ucwilmington.com