Why You Should Not Be Overly Alarmed By Headaches

When people begin experiencing frequent headaches, they often panic. Is it a brain tumor? Could you have suffered a concussion when you bumped your head the other day? While these are possible causes of repeated headaches, it's a mistake to jump to this conclusion. Only about 5% of headaches are warning signs of physical problems. The other 95% are what medical professional call "primary headaches." In other words, they are triggered by certain situations, but are not a sign of any particular disease.

Identifying Your Headache Triggers

Primary headaches can have many triggers, which vary widely between people. For some people, certain foods trigger headaches. Other times, it may be a certain smell or sound, stressful situations, or even a reaction to certain exercise. To identify your triggers, start keeping a diary of your actions and when you experience headaches. In time, you'll start to notice patterns. Avoid activities or situations that seem to trigger your headaches, and you'll probably notice they start to occur less frequently.

Treating Primary Headaches

In addition to identifying and removing your headache triggers, you can seek treatment from a chiropractor. Often, pressure on the spinal nerves caused by tension in the muscles of the neck and back contribute to headaches. By alleviating this tension, your chiropractor can help keep your headaches to a minimum.

It can be tempting to pop pain killers when you have a headache, but this only hides the symptoms. If you must rely on pain killers to make it through the day, make sure you're not doing so in place of trigger identification and chiropractic treatment.

When to See a Physician

If your headaches do not decrease in severity or frequency after you identify and avoid your triggers and after you visit your chiropractor several times, it's time to see your doctor. He or she can conduct some simple tests, such as an MRI or blood tests, to ensure your headaches don't have a more sinister underlying cause.

You should also seek prompt medical attention if you ever suffer a headache with these symptoms:

• Fainting
• Trouble speaking
• High fever over 104 degrees F
• Numbness on one side of the body

These symptoms may be a sign of a stroke or serious infection, and prompt treatment may save your life.

While there are certainly headaches that do indicate worrisome medical conditions, most are pretty harmless. Of course, that does not mean they aren't bothersome! Start working on identifying your triggers, and see your chiropractor today. Your frequent headaches should subside in no time, and if they don't, then you can start considering the possibility of a more worrisome cause.