Chronic Migraines and Disability Helped with Chiropractic Care

The Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research published a chiropractic case study on May 9, 2018. The study documented the care of a young man being helped by chiropractic who was suffering with multiple issues including neck pain and stiffness, pins and needles into his left shoulder, low back pain, difficulty sleeping, and migraine headaches.

The Migraine Research Foundation shares a number of statistics concerning how common migraines are in the population. According to the foundation, migraines are the 3rd most prevalent illness in the world. They report that nearly 1 in 4 U.S. households includes someone with migraines, with nearly 12% of the population, including children, suffer from this condition. This condition affects 18% of American women, 6% of men, and 10% of children, and is most common between the ages of 18 and 44.

In this case, a 35-year-old man went to the chiropractor in hopes of getting help for his multiple conditions. At that time, he was suffering with neck pain and stiffness, pins and needles into his left shoulder, low back pain and difficulty sleeping. The man was also suffering with chronic, long-term migraine headaches, which was his primary reason for seeking chiropractic.

The current episode of severe neck pain he was suffering from began after he was drying his hair. He was using heat on his neck as well as taking over the counter pain medications, but neither of those reduced his pain. His neck pain was so severe that he reported he was unable to go to the gym or get out of bed without help. He felt this was having an adverse effect on the psychosocial aspects of his life.

The man reported some past trauma to his neck in the past from playing rugby in his teenage years, and football until about a year ago. He also reported that he was a victim of a physical assault approximately five years ago. The man also reported a significant injury five years prior in which he fractured his right clavicle.

A chiropractic examination was performed which included a postural analysis, spinal palpation, a spinal range of motion analysis and several orthopedic tests. In addition, specific spinal x-rays were taken to determine vertebral positioning and overall curvatures and biomechanics of the spine. It was noted that the man had a reversal of neck curve instead of the normal forward curvature.

As a result of the examination and x-rays, specific forms of chiropractic procedures were started. The patient was given regular update evaluations to determine the changes in his spine as well as his symptomatic improvement. On his first re-evaluation four weeks into his care, it was reported that the man had symptomatically improved about 80 percent from when he started care. His self-reported disability had also greatly improved with all of his pain issues.

In follow-up examinations and x-rays, the patient showed measurable changes in the objective findings. At the three month follow-up, the man reported a total resolution of all of his symptoms including not having any more migraine headaches.