Chiropractors

Headaches have numerous causes, ranging from subluxation to brain tumors, although serious medical problems are the rare exception. This is why it is important to consider medical assessment for headache problems that don't resolve under chiropractic care. In reality, however, most patients with headaches come to the chiropractor as a last resort, after most medical and diagnostic approaches have already been tried.

Much research has shown that chiropractic care is effective for a variety of headachesmigraine, tension, cluster, cervicogenic (coming from the neck), and others. The course of care is usually much the same as the one for back and neck pain, simply because the underlying cause of the headaches is also subluxation.

Most headache problems resolve very quickly under chiropractic care, usually showing some relief after the first or second adjustment. With chronic headache problems, however, while an adjustment usually can offer some short-term relief, the most benefit is gained over the long run. As the neck subluxation heals and the tissues become healthier, chronic headache sufferers usually find that the frequency and intensity of headaches either decrease or disappear altogether.

It is not uncommon to find that subluxation causes numbness and tingling in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and feet. This is because nerves become unhealthy over time as a result of subluxation and begin to lose their normal function. There can be other causes of numbness aside from subluxation, even in the case of neuropathy (inflammation and degeneration of peripheral nerves caused by diabetes or other problems) correction of subluxation can help these very intractable problems.

Numbness also can be caused by nerve interference in areas of the body other than the spine. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an example. Some chiropractors treat CTS through adjustment of the wrists, physical therapy modalities, and bracing.

In any case, numbness and tingling are the signs of fairly advanced neurological breakdown and are not easily resolved. The course of care at a chiropractic office is primarily focused on subluxation correction, not specific treatment of the symptom. Numbness and tingling problems usually take many weeks to a few months of care to show significant improvement. It takes time for nerves to heal from this advanced state of damage. There is, of course, the occasional patient whose numbness and tingling problems disappear after just one or a few adjustments, but most people with this sort of problem need to be patient and allow time for healing.