Chiropractic Health & Wellness Blog

When your head is pounding, it can feel almost impossible to simply live your life. And even though you have work, home, and family obligations, you may find that the only thing that makes you feel better is lying in bed or on the couch, which may be okay if you only have headaches occasionally. But if you tend to experience head pain more often than not, like some of our Minneapolis chiropractic patients do, then you are probably looking for a better solution.

Certainly, there are a number of medications out there designed to help you relieve your headaches and migraines, but they’re not always the best option. Either the ingredients in them make you feel wired and keep you up all night, or they make you so drowsy that you can’t stay awake long enough to hear about your child’s day when they get home from school. 

So, if you’re looking for some all-natural headache cures that work, here are five to try the next time your head pain strikes:

• Watch your diet. Certain foods have been found to actually trigger headache and migraine pain, which means that watching your diet can help reduce the number of head pain episodes, as well as lessening their duration and intensity. Some foods and ingredients to watch out for, according to WebMD, include cheeses, food additives such as nitrites and food coloring, Chinese food (thanks to the MSG), chocolate, caffeine, dried fruits, crackers, canned soups, and cold foods like ice cream. It also helps to keep a food diary so you can identify triggers specific to you.
   
• Do some stretching exercises. Sometimes headaches are caused due to tight muscles in the neck and shoulder area, which makes loosening them critical to relieving the headache pain. One stretch to try is simply tilting your head from side to side as far as you can. Another involves standing up straight and rolling your shoulders back, bringing your shoulder blades together as close as you can. No matter which type of stretches you do, be sure to use slow and controlled movements so you don’t aggravate the area even further. 
   
• Get a massage. If your headaches are due to stress and tension, a massage may be just what you need to help relax your tense muscles and your mind. Here at Lyn Lake Chiropractic, we offer soft tissue and massage therapy services to all of our Minneapolis chiropractic clients, potentially helping you lessen or eliminate your head pain entirely. In the meantime though, don’t be afraid to take a few minutes and give yourself a nice, soothing temple or neck massage. It may just release some of the pain and make you feel a better almost instantly.
   
• Take peppermint oil and rub it on your forehead and temples. One study published in a German health publication found that, when compared to a placebo, individuals who took two peppermint oil capsules (each one containing 10 grams of 10% peppermint oil) and also spread some of the oil on their temples and foreheads experienced greater levels of relief in just 15 minutes time, with the positive effects lasting an hour later. This is definitely a great all-natural way to say goodbye to your head pain.
   
• Engage in regular chiropractic care. Of course, we would be totally remiss if we didn’t tell you how great engaging in regular chiropractic care can be for easing your chronic headache pain. If your headaches are due to tension, they typically respond well to chiropractic since these particular types of headaches are often caused by subluxations (misalignments) in your neck area. Even migraines symptoms can lessen with chiropractic care, as one study conducted by a doctor at Macquarie University revealed that 22% of chiropractic patients experienced a “substantial reduction” in migraine symptoms as a result of treatment, with an additional 50% reporting “quite noticeable improvement.”

If you suffer from frequent headaches, make an appointment at Lyn Lake Chiropractic today. Our Minneapolis chiropractors will do what we can to help you relieve, and possibly even eliminate, all of your head-related pain!