Despite the several sources of information available online, sometimes, it can't be helped that myths and misconceptions can still reach the general public regarding different health mishaps like migraines. Misconceptions about this condition can be extremely challenging and disappointing for patients looking for migraine relief in Decatur. Knowing the truth and lies about migraine can help you better understand and manage your condition.
Others who have never experienced a migraine may fall victim to misconceptions about this condition. Verifying information is always recommended, especially if it concerns your health and well-being. So here are eight (8) migraine facts that you might find helpful.
Migraine is beyond headaches. It can stem from a condition involving your nerves, spine, and brain.
It's common for patients seeking migraine relief in Decatur to complain about head pain. Unfortunately, this condition is one of the leading sources of headaches. Sadly, the pain can range from moderate to severe and vary from pounding or throbbing headache.
This is usually called silent migraines, but it doesn't mean that the accompanying symptoms are less debilitating. In addition, you may experience other symptoms, such as dizziness or balance issues, visual disturbances, or a stiff or sore neck.
This condition can come with a host of symptoms apart from head pain. For example, some patients report nausea and vomiting made worse by movements. You may also experience sensory sensitivity, including lights, sounds, smells, touches, or a combination of all of these. Some may also experience trouble speaking, numbness, cognitive issues, neck pain, and vertigo.
About 30 percent of patients may experience migraine with aura, which involves a series of visual symptoms. An aura is a short neurological syndrome that can slowly develop and stop as soon as it begins. These visual symptoms may include zigzag lines, flashing lights, and blind spots. An aura may happen even without a headache and can take place one hour before the intense migraine episode.
It's not uncommon for migraine patients to experience head pain, mostly on one side of the head. This happens to the majority of people with migraine. However, it can also bring pain on both sides of the head. In addition, some patients feel pain in their face and neck.
Some migraine patients can experience early warning signs wherein they experience other neurological symptoms hours, or sometimes days, before an episode. This is usually called a prodrome, and symptoms may include the following:
Your migraine episode can last about four hours to several days. However, if there is a prodrome and aura, it can last longer. This is commonly called a migraine hangover and may include concentration and cognitive issues, fatigue, and even depression.
Recognizing lies or myths is an excellent first step to help you achieve lasting migraine relief in Decatur. Continuously believing in false or confusing information can hinder your ability to get proper care. Therefore, by being aware and letting go of these things, you open yourself up to better options to successfully cope with migraine symptoms. Below are some known misconceptions about migraines that we must debunk.
As we mentioned in migraine facts, this condition is a neurological disorder, and it's not "just in the head." The pain and discomfort are significantly debilitating, and the whole body is involved. A migraine episode can enlarge your brain's blood vessels, leading to intense pain. Depending on the severity of your condition, it can affect you on one side or both sides of the head, and you may experience bouts of vomiting and sensory sensitivity.
Unfortunately, there is no truth to this statement, as your overall quality of life can be affected, including your work and social life. There can be significant life events that you can miss or not be fully present for because of an episode. In addition, due to debilitating symptoms, your overall productivity can also be affected.
Sensory sensitivities accompanying migraine may prompt you to isolate yourself from everyone and stay in a dark room until the migraine episode takes its course. However, educating your family and friends about your health condition can avoid tension with them and make them more aware of the severity of your condition. They may even be available to help if needed.
No, migraine is not synonymous with extreme headaches, but this condition can bring bouts of severe head pain, among other symptoms. In addition, this neurological condition affects your whole body and not just the head, and symptoms can last far longer than headaches.
This is entirely false. There are several migraine relief options available and accessible to patients. These may include medication, diet changes, stress management, lifestyle improvements, or chiropractic care.
You may be surprised how gentle chiropractic adjustments in your spine can help ease your migraine symptoms. Dr. Stephanie O'Brien has been helping migraine patients cope better and find relief through Specific chiropractic care.
The gentle adjustments can help reduce the interference or irritation on your nerves caused by misalignments. Unfortunately, these misalignments may be the culprit for the onset of your debilitating migraine symptoms. But you don't have to endure them any longer, and you can live a healthier and more fulfilling life.
To get started with your chiropractic care, book your appointment online or call 404-370-8050. On the day of your visit, Dr. O'Brien will first chat with you to learn more about your health history and main concerns. She may also require an X-ray image of your spine to better analyze your condition before planning your adjustments. This is to ensure the adjustments you're getting best suit your needs. Please don't wait any longer; call us, and let us help you improve your quality of life, free from pain and discomfort.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. O’Brien, call our Decatur office at 404-370-8050. You can also click the button below.
Have you ever gone through a really exhausting time at work and felt like you couldn't get through the day? The days seem shorter than they used to be, and the sun is setting sooner than it used to. You may feel like your head is full of fog all day long, making it difficult to focus on anything. You might even feel nauseous and experience stomach aches when you get home from work. If any of this sounds familiar, you could be dealing with migraines!
This post will explore some of the most effective healthy routines for managing migraines and reducing their occurrence. Additionally, we will help you understand the most sought-after Decatur migraine relief that is holistic and safe in conjunction with other health routines and care plans.
First, let's talk about what migraines are. A migraine is a pain in one side of your head that can cause vomiting, nausea, blurred vision, and sensitivity to certain sounds and light if left untreated. Many people experience these symptoms for several days before their migraine goes away completely on their own.
While there is still no cure for migraines, there are many things you can do to control your migraines. For starters, you can try making necessary adjustments to shift to a healthier lifestyle. While it may seem like an obvious thing to do, having a healthy lifestyle is not easy. So, we thought of sharing a few things to kickstart your efforts to manage your migraines better.
Why is a healthy lifestyle essential or even helpful to those with migraines? Well, there's no one answer for everyone—but here are some reasons why:
If you're suffering from migraines, you probably have tried everything under the sun to get some relief. You know that the best thing you can do is prevent them from happening in the first place, but how? It seems like there isn't a lot of information out there on what works and what doesn't. Well, we're here to tell you those that work and provide significant Decatur migraine relief!
Get that heart rate up! Exercise can help reduce the frequency of your headaches, even if they occur during or after an activity. It also helps with stress levels and improves your mood overall. Plus, who doesn't want more energy?
Your diet or food choices play a vital role in how well you sleep and feel during the day when it comes time to hit the hay. Eating foods rich in magnesium like nuts, seeds, beans, and dark chocolate will help keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day so that it doesn't spike when it's time for bedtime (which can cause trouble falling asleep). It also helps ensure you have sufficient energy throughout the day so that once bedtime rolls around, you don't feel too exhausted to fall asleep.
Your blood sugar is essential to your body's energy supply, but it can trigger a migraine when it fluctuates too much. To keep your blood sugar at optimum levels, avoid refined carbohydrates (such as white bread and pasta) and eat more than five small meals throughout the day instead of three big ones.
It could be done by taking a couple of deep breaths or meditating for five minutes daily. You can also try other techniques like yoga and mindfulness exercise. Whatever coping mechanism you use, we suggest using them as soon as possible to help improve your episodes.
If possible, try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day—even on weekends! This helps keep your body in tune and controls the production and release of hormones like cortisol (which is linked with headaches).
Take advantage of your body's natural healing power, given the proper guidance and assistance of specific chiropractic. Including specific chiropractic care in your care plan is an excellent way of ensuring your spinal health, which is a foundation for the smooth functioning of many of your systems and managing painful health problems like migraines.
As for the best Decatur migraine relief out there, it would be specific chiropractic care. This approach is one of the most effective approaches for migraines. Studies have proven that chiropractic care can help reduce headache days and frequency and improve the overall quality of life.
Specific chiropractors like Dr. Stephanie O'Brien of Chiropractic for Everybody focus on adjusting the misaligned vertebral bones that affect the spinal cord and other nervous system components. The technique can help restore imbalances in the body and improve health.
If you want to get quality specific chiropractic care in Decatur, visit Dr. O'Brien. We are open Mondays and Fridays from 10 am to 6 pm, Wednesdays from 4 pm until 7 pm, and Saturdays from 10 am to 12 pm. You can set your appointment online or via phone at (404) 370-8050.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. O’Brien, call our Decatur office at 404-370-8050. You can also click the button below.
Children are amazing tiny creatures. They bring joy to their parents and the people around them, and their innocence and concept of fun and love are infectious. However, kids sometimes feel frustrated when they have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts and feelings, especially if it causes pain and discomfort. It becomes equally frustrating for their parents or guardians as they are usually clueless about how they can help.
When kids complain about pain in their head area, it can bring panic and worry to the guardians, who can think something worse can happen.
Parents and guardians must know that migraines also happen in children, and there are signs to help them understand if a child is experiencing a migraine or if it's something else. A chiropractor for migraines in Decatur can also give you pointers on identifying and dealing with them when episodes start happening.
A child with migraine can be affected both physically and psychologically, which can interfere with their overall development. You can learn more about the available migraine signs to understand how children are affected physically and emotionally.
Look for these telling signs to easily spot if your child has migraine. Adults may experience the same symptoms, including throbbing and pulsing headaches, but children may find it difficult to identify them independently.
With a short attention span and difficulty concentrating, they may be experiencing something that takes their focus away. Concentration issues may come with headaches too.
It is common for children with migraine to experience dizziness. Additionally, many adults also experience dizziness because of vestibular migraines, which affect a person's balance.
Enduring migraine symptoms such as severe headaches can use up a child's energy, so they may also show signs of fatigue or exhaustion.
When migraine's debilitating symptoms occur, it may be difficult for a child to fall asleep and eventually develop insomnia. When this happens, it can trigger a domino effect in terms of concentration problems, fatigue, and potentially, a mood disorder.
When you notice signs of anxiety and depression in a child after complaining about migraine-related symptoms, you may already need to visit a chiropractor for migraines in Decatur to help manage and potentially eliminate your child's migraine. Migraines are neurological, so mood or mental health disorders can co-exist with it because they are all related to the brain's function.
Migraine can trigger heightened sensory sensitivity to stimuli in children. Pay attention when they show signs of being uncomfortable with loud sounds, strong smells, and even bright lights. Sometimes they exhibit signs of annoyance and pain from these stimuli. Their sense of taste and touch may also be affected.
If your child suddenly shows excessive and frequent irritability and moodiness beyond average, you may need to pay closer attention to them. Migraine can also make them feel suddenly sad or withdrawn. They may also show less interest in food or crave specific food despite a loss of appetite.
Before inundating your child with different medications or even resorting to invasive methods such as surgery to deal with migraine, exploring natural remedies sometimes prove to be sufficient in helping them overcome the pain and discomfort.
Parents and guardians can help children cope with the pain and discomfort of migraine in different ways, such as:
This is proven to help determine and monitor personal migraine triggers, symptoms, durations, and other things you suspect are related to migraine.
May involve stress, weather changes, food sensitivities, skipped meals, sleep patterns, hormone fluctuations, and sensory stimulation. Once you have identified your child's triggers, help them avoid the triggers if possible.
Essential oils may help relax your child, calm them down, and soothe their discomfort from migraine symptoms. You can let your child choose what they like best among lavender, chamomile, rosemary, or peppermint, so it can add a little excitement knowing they chose the scent themselves.
You can offer to massage your child's migraine pressure points to relieve their discomfort.
Unhealthy sleeping habits can make your child vulnerable to pain and discomfort and can trigger migraine episodes.
Applying a warm or cool compress to the head area may reduce discomfort caused by migraine.
You can reach out to a chiropractor for migraines in Decatur to identify if a misalignment in any of the vertebrae in your child's spine is primarily causing the migraine episodes.
There are many cases of misalignments in the spine that lead to migraines, and children are not an exemption. Fortunately, Specific Chiropractic care is generally safe for children and adults alike. A misalignment in the bones of the spine can contribute to limited blood flow to the brain, a huge factor in the development of migraines.
A misalignment in the vertebrae can be adjusted and corrected only by a certified chiropractor to ensure the whole procedure is safe, gentle, and suitable to fit your child's needs. If your child has been experiencing recurring migraine episodes, perhaps Specific Chiropractic is what they need.
You can check out our website to know more about us and book your consultation schedule with Stephanie O'Brien D.C. Let your child enjoy each moment of being a child by putting an end to their pain and suffering caused by migraine. Call Chiropractic for Everybody today!
To schedule a consultation with Dr. O’Brien, call our Decatur office at 404-370-8050. You can also click the button below.
