Your Neck and Migraines
According to current research, one or a variety of factors could lead to a person experiencing migraines. Sometimes, that pain could result from allergies or environmental conditions, but other times they could arise because of past injuries we sustained. Here is a list of some of those common accidents that could lead to a person experiencing migraines.
- Car accident (or an accident in any other type of vehicle)
- Sports injury (Sports like boxing, football, or Rugby are especially susceptible)
- Fall down stairs, any type of incline, or just tripping and falling
- Physical abuse (Being hit, Shaken Baby Syndrome, or spousal abuse)
When you suffer any type of strike to the head that causes your neck to move forward and back further than it is mean to, that can cause a misalignment in your upper neck vertebrae. Those migraines may not happen right away. They may not occur for days, weeks, months, or even years after the injury. You may even be tempted to think that you weren’t hit that hard or the vehicle that hit you from behind wasn’t traveling that fast.
Whiplash and Migraines
Well, consider that it only takes a rear-end impact of 5 MPH to cause whiplash. That means a person can run and collide with another person from behind at that speed, or someone can swing a fist and hit a person at that speed. That collision, whether due to a car accident, sports related injury, or other will most likely cause a misalignment in the upper cervical spine.
Now, as we said, there are most like more than one factor that can cause a person to suffer from migraines. One of those factors is a misalignment in the upper neck vertebrae. The top two vertebrae in a person’s neck, or the upper cervical spine, support the weight of the head.
Your Upper Cervical Spine and Migraines
When your upper cervical spine is out of alignment by even ¼ of a millimeter, it restricts the brains ability to communicate with the body via the brainstem. That miscommunication can cause all sorts of problems, one of which is migraines that could be the result of an irritation to your nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid flow and blood flow.
Of course, the good news is that misalignment can be realigned by seeking the care of an upper cervical chiropractor. They’ll examine your neck for any injuries to the upper neck vertebrae that may be the underlying cause of your migraines.
