Migraines really sap your energy and leave you tired and feeling unwell for many days at a time. This is hard enough for adults to cope with but even more difficult for children who get migraines. In fact, it seems downright unfair for a child to have to deal with the pain of migraines. Unfortunately, it does happen. In fact, many children with migraines grow up to have migraines as an adult. The following facts about children and migraines may surprise you:
It is important to note that migraines are not just really bad headaches. In fact, a headache is only a symptom of a migraine, albeit the most prominent one. Migraines are actually a complex neurological condition. They may have the following symptoms:
When it comes to children and migraines, their attacks usually occur less often and are shorter in nature. However, they can be just as debilitating. Migraines affect a child’s life quality. The child often is forced to miss out on social and family activities, leading to feeling depressed or anxious about the onset of the next migraine.
Migraines in children are more common than most people realize. By the age of 17, as many as 23 percent of girls and 8 percent of boys have had a migraine at least one time. Migraines remain a mystery among researchers and the medical community. This is true for both adults and children. However, a combination of both environmental and genetic factors seem to play a role. More than 50 percent of those with migraines also have a relative suffering from migraines as well.
Even though children often get less severe symptoms than adults, they stiff suffer. Migraines hold children back from really enjoying life. They may cause children to develop anxiety because they do not know when the next migraine will hit. This can cause them to avoid committing to spending time with their friends. Most children with migraines do not take part in after-school activities or play sports. In addition, children with migraines miss school twice as much as children without migraines.
Adolescents often have chronic migraines, occurring for more than 15 days during a month’s time. These are one of the most debilitating migraine types. They can last anywhere from 4 hours to 3 months! For most teens, this feels like having a daily headache, and often that is just what it is. In addition to headaches, these youths often experience additional symptoms:
Chronic migraines are difficult to cope with and definitely have a negative impact on a child’s life quality.
Jacob Hollady is a 12-year-old boy who was suffering from migraines. His story was featured on ABC news. He was admitted to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, California because he had been suffering for 5 days with a horrendous migraine. He said his pain was on both sides of his head near his temples, but mostly on the left side. His mother reported how he had missed 2 weeks of school previously and now had missed an entire week due to this migraine. Jacob was suffering, and there is not one medication the FDA has approved for children to take. So, what are parents to do when their child is in pain like Jacob?
Finding relief for migraines can be tricky because no one really understands why they occur. It is agreed upon that they are neurological in origin, but no traditional way to care for them has been 100 percent successful. However, upper cervical chiropractors are seeing much success in caring for their patients with migraines, no matter their age.
A misalignment in the C1 or C2 vertebra of the neck has been seen to be an underlying cause of migraines. Because of their ability to let the head move in many directions, these bones misalign very easily. It only takes a mild blow to the head to cause these bones to move out of place. In fact something as simple as childbirth can make these bones misalign. Even falling when learning to walk can be an issue as well. Playing outside, riding a bike, playing sports, or other childhood activities are enough to cause these bones to misalign. When out of alignment, these bones can put the brainstem under stress and cause it to send improper signals to the brain. This can be a reason migraines occur.
We use a gentle method to realign these bones. It is safe for children and adults alike. In fact, even infants can have this type of adjustment without any negative effects. This is, in part, due to the fact that we do not pop or crack the neck or spine to get positive results. Once these bones are realigned and communication is restored between the brain and the body, the end result can be relief from migraines as has been seen in numerous studies.
A migraine is a neurological condition that is most known for being accompanied by an extremely painful headache. This excruciating pain can last for hours or even many days. This condition is very common, affecting 39 million of those living in the United States and 1 billion worldwide. Here are a few interesting facts about migraines:
Symptoms of migraines can vary for each person and may start awhile before, just before, during, and after the head pain. Typical symptoms are:
Auras are perceptual disturbances that indicate to a person that a migraine is about to come on. Auras can include:
Most ways to care for migraines focus on preventing an attack before it happens or relieving the symptoms once they have begun. There are some things you personally can do to help curb migraine pain:
Some people opt for medication to alleviate their migraines as they are not familiar with any other natural solution that works. Some medications that may be suggested by your doctor are:
Additional suggestions may include:
One thing to be aware of is something called a rebound or medication overuse headache. This comes about when one takes too many painkillers and they begin to bring on worse headaches than a migraine. Taking pain medication for more than a couple of days a week can cause these headaches to begin.
Some common triggers to be aware of are listed below. It is highly recommended that you keep a migraine diary and record what you did before a migraine came on. Such things as weather conditions, physical activity, what foods you ate, and your stress levels should be recorded. This will help you see a pattern develop and help you avoid future migraines. Triggers can be:
Dr. Raymond Damadian has done much research into the field of migraines and how they are related to upper cervical misalignments. Dr. Damadian, born in March of 1936, actually invented to MRI and the upright MRI. By using an upright MRI, he was able to see just how much cerebrospinal fluid is going to and leaving the brain. He came up with the theory that if a misalignment is present in the bones of the upper cervical spine, the inhibited cerebrospinal fluid flow is unable to remove metabolic waste from the brain and can lead to such things as migraines and even multiple sclerosis. He documented some cases that show success when caring for this type of misalignment through upper cervical chiropractic care, including the disappearance of lesions on the brain when the problem was corrected. The top bones of the neck, the atlas and axis, are particularly to blame here as they are very susceptible to misaligning.
After considering what Dr. Damadian discovered, it would make sense that correcting the misalignments in the upper neck could lead to a resolution or, at the very least, an improvement in the problems associated with the hindered cerebrospinal fluid flow. And this is exactly what has been discovered.
A study involving a 54-year-old woman who had suffered from migraines and vertigo for over 10 years reveals just how much upper cervical chiropractic can help. After just 3 months of this type of care, her symptoms went away and she was able to go on with her life.
We use a method that differs from traditional chiropractic in that it does not involve popping, twisting, or cracking the spine. Rather, we use gentle adjustments to help the spine naturally move back into alignment. This stabilizes the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and reduces intracranial pressure. Our patients report positive results in only one or two visits.
