I want to talk to you about migraines. I am sure everyone knows what a migraine is, but maybe you don’t know all the symptoms that could go with a migraine. Everyone knows that migraine is a severe headache, but a lot of times these people experience things called auras, which are visual disturbances. Sometimes, people experience light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, so bright lights, and loud noises really bother them. People have vertigo attacks. People get nauseous and throw up. It is a really, really debilitating condition. The worst part about it is that most people who suffer from migraines suffer from them on a day-to-day basis.
Unfortunately, the health community doesn’t really know how to treat these migraines. A lot of times painkillers are involved, and even anti-anxiety and anti-depressants are prescribed to try to better deal with vertigo attacks.
What can we do with upper cervical care to help these people with migraines? We see migraines every single day. People who deal with migraines in our office come to find out they get relief quickly.
Let’s talk about what happens between the brain and the heart and why migraines occur.
In a normal human being, the brain needs oxygen constantly. However, when the brain is not getting enough oxygen, it tells the heart, “Hey, I need more oxygen, so you need to pump more blood up to me.”
It is important to note that the brain controls every blood vessel in our body. It tells our arteries when to dilate and when to constrict, or open and close. Normally, when the heart is pumping more blood up to the brain, so the brain can get this oxygen, the brain tells the blood vessels to dilate – the blood gets up to the brain and everything is good. However, when people suffer from migraines, the brain is not communicating to the body as it should, and that includes the blood vessels, like the arteries.
When the heart is pumping blood up to the brain and the brain is not controlling the dilation of the arteries, those arteries stay constricted. Now, you have all this blood pumping up against the arteries, which causes inflammation and irritation of those arteries. On top of that, the brain is still not getting enough oxygen, which attributes to the auras, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, nausea; all because the brain is not getting enough oxygen.
That is how migraines work. That is why with upper cervical care, we see unbelievable results with migraine relief because we can take the pressure off of the brainstem and allow the brain to communicate with the heart as it should. This allows those blood vessels to dilate to get the blood back up to the brain, and everything works just like it should without any neurological issues and without any pain.