Link Between Migraine Headaches and Back Pain

Anyone who has to cope with the pain of migraine headaches realizes the importance of finding out what the cause may be. Interestingly, migraines are not categorized as headaches. They are a neurological disorder, with headaches being only one of the symptoms. Some things that may trigger a migraine are certain types of food, allergic reactions, or inherited genes. One area that is often overlooked, however, is that of back pain. Yes, back pain can cause migraines. This may be due to one of the following:

• Disorders of the vascular system: The brain may not be getting the proper amount of blood flow. This may lead to meningitis, intracerebral hemorrhaging, brain abscesses, encephalitis, and other similar complications.
• Central nervous system disorder: Since the brain and spinal cord are part of the central nervous system, such things as an injury to this area, degenerative spinal problems, an infection, stress on the nerves of the spinal cord, tumors, structural defects, stroke, or autoimmune disorders can be the cause of back pain and migraines.
• Abnormal chemical properties: There are neurotransmitters called dopamine and serotonin that send certain messages to the brain. If these are not at the proper level, they cause unusual activity of the blood vessels in the brain. Some reasons for this are certain foods, birth control medication, or skipping meals.

Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care May Be Able to Help

Upper cervical chiropractors have found much success in helping patients gain back control of their lives by relieving back pain and migraines. We examine the upper two vertebrae of the neck to see if a misalignment has occurred. A misalignment of only ¼ of a millimeter is all it takes to cause pain. 

This misalignment places undue pressure on the brainstem and damages the body's communication system. Once this misalignment is corrected, the body and the brain can once again begin to send and receive proper messages. This allows healing to take place in the central nervous system, and the result just maybe a decrease in the duration and severity of migraines. In some cases, migraines and back pain have gone away entirely.