An Integrative Approach to

HEADACHE

The most common types of headache include

Some of the less-common sources of headache include infection, metabolic disorders, toxics, rebound and vascular.

Symptoms of headache may vary depending on the origin of the headache. Some of the key questions we will ask include:

Characteristics: type, severity, location
Timing: any patterns?
Provocation factors: what makes it better or worse?
Associated factors: nausea, fatigue or low energy, anxiety, depression, irritability, memory & concentration
Risk Factors: smoking, head injury, shift work, disordered sleep, heart disease

ASSESSMENT: Our naturopath will carefully assess your headaches by using a systems-based approach. We will discuss the following:

Musculoskeletal: headaches are commonly of muscular and spinal origin
Diet & Nutrition: a lot of headaches are due to some sort of food sensitivity, nutrient deficiency or dehydration
Head Injury: previous head trauma can cause headache
Inflammation: a subset of headaches are due to inflammatory conditions
Hormones: hormones play a significant role
Cardiovascular Health: most headaches are related to blood flow, which is controlled by the heart and blood vessels
Specialized Lab Testing: many of the causes of headaches can be identified by special testing, especially if your case is complex

TREATMENT: our naturopath uses several options to treat headaches:

Diet: adding or removing certain foods may help symptoms
Herbs: research shows certain herbs can be helpful for treating headaches, depending on the causative factors
Acupuncture: proven to be effective for headaches, acupuncture helps with blood flow and pain management
Vitamins/Minerals: certain key nutrients play a role in treating headaches, from affecting blood flow, promoting fluid balance and pain management
Lifestyle Change: everyday things like hydration, exercise, sleep management and stress can all affect headaches
Prevention: if a person is prone to headaches, identifying triggers and contributing factors is helpful to minimize the frequency of headaches

Click here to learn more about Naturopathy.

ASSESSMENT: Our physiotherapists will get to the root cause of your headaches by assessing the following:

Patient History: to determine causative factors
Observation: of posture & muscle tension
Functional Tests: to assess and determine your body mechanics and determine if that is contributing to your headaches
Range of Motion: noting any joint restrictions and comparing your range of motion to normative values
Strength: looking for weakness/imbalance
Soft Tissues: to test the integrity of the ligaments, muscles, and cartilage
Palpation: contacting the painful areas to help determine what structures may be causing your pain

TREATMENT: Our physiotherapists use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your headaches:

Manual Therapy: joint mobilizations, soft tissue release, and stretching to help improve range of motion and take pressure off painful areas
Acupuncture and Dry Needling: acupuncture has been proven to be effective in easing the severity of headaches and improving muscle tension
Therapeutic Modalities: hot/cold therapy, and electrostimulation can help with pain Exercise: a home exercise program will address issues such as neck range of motion and posture
Education: we will discuss topics such as exercise and symptom and pain management techniques for self-management

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ASSESSMENT: Our chiropractors use thorough subjective and physical assessments to determine the best course of action:

Head to toe assessment: chiropractors can help with back and spine related pain, but also peripheral joints too
Health History: learning about your past helps us better understand your current state of health
Movement: observing how you move tells us a lot about your joint health, muscle imbalances and posture
Functional Testing: looking at range of motion and biomechanics
Strength: looking for any areas of weakness

TREATMENT: Our chiropractors use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your headaches:

Manual Therapy: joint manipulations and mobilizations, soft tissue release, and stretching to help improve range of motion
Therapeutic Modalities: hot/cold therapy, and electrostimulation may help with pain and/or tissue repair
Exercise: appropriate exercises play an important role in headache management

Click here to learn more about Chiropractic.

ASSESSMENT: Massage therapists can assess your case to find the root cause of your headache by assessing the following:

Patient History: there are many contributing factors and our massage therapists will be able to determine if massage may help
Observation: for any signs of postural imbalance, muscular tightness, inflammation or joint dysfunction

TREATMENT: Our massage therapists may use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your headaches: