Painting the Picture of Headaches for Children

Headaches are a health challenge that many adults struggle with in daily living. It is estimated that up to 46% of adults are presently suffering from a headaches.¹ While many adults deal with the problem there is another group of people suffering from headaches that is on the rise. Approximately 4-10% of children have headaches; The American Migraine Foundation estimates 60% of children have an occasional headache.²

Children present a challenge in the proper diagnosis and treatment of headaches, and often are either misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed. When a child has any painful condition, it is challenging to be able to properly communicate what or how they are feeling.

Doctors are taking a new approach to getting vital information regarding headaches and other neurological conditions in children. By using art and asking children to draw what they are feeling has lead to profound results.³ While a child cannot tell you the difference between a throbbing headache or a dull, achy migraine the ability to express feelings in pictures is help get children the help they need. Some drawings include a baseball bat hitting them over the head or even throwing up and crying over a toilet. This helps doctors to make the appropriate choices for treatment.

In Cranberry Township, PA headache specialist, Dr Ian Bulow, has found great success using a natural approach to headaches in children. Dr Bulow is a specially trained chiropractor that focuses on the Atlas C1 bone known as Upper Cervical Chiropractic. The Atlas bone house the brainstem which is where the brain connects to the rest of the entire body. When the Atlas bone becomes misaligned headaches often occur as a result. Studies have shown that children have improved from headaches while under Upper Cervical Chiropractic care, as well as other behavioral disorders.³  

References: 

1. Stovner LJ, Hagen K, Jensen R, Katsarva Z, Lipton R, Scher A, Steiner T, Zwart JA. The global burden of headache: a documentation of headache prevalence and disability worldwide. Cephalgia 2007;27(3):193-210.
2. Headaches in Children. http://www.achenet.org/resources/headaches_in_children (accessed 10 July 2015).
3. Wolfson P. For kids with migraines, a picture can be worth a thousand words. http://wtop.com/health/2015/07/kids-migraines-picture-can-worth-thousand-words/slide/1/ (accessed 10 June 2015).
4. Elster EL. Upper cervical chiropractic care for a nine-year-old male with Tourette syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, asthma, insomnia, and headaches: a case report. J Vertebral Subluxation Res, July 12, 2003:1-11.