Between 20 and 45 million people in the United States suffer form headaches each year. According to U. S. News and World Report magazine, this accounts for over $2 BILLION dollars spent for over-the-counter medications and 50 million doctor office visits. There are 157 million workdays and over a million school days lost because of headaches. Migraines, a common, very severe type of headache are responsible for at least half of those missed days, medications taken, and medical office visits made.

Migraine headaches are a horrible affliction and can be accompanied by nausea, throbbing pain, and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines are often triggered by light, smells, sounds, food allergies, stressful situations, or even medications.

The pain of migraines is commonly treated on a temporary basis with a variety of medications. Recently, startling research has revealed a way to, not only relieve the debilitating pain, but also correct the cause of the migraines so that they do not occur in the first place.

Preliminary research results of a study done at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology "indicate an outstanding outcome" for a different approach. This five-year study determined that chiropractic care is "effective in relieving the severity and frequency of some headaches," including migraine headaches. A majority of individuals who participated in this study" improved with chiropractic care."

Chiropractic's effectiveness is the result of its focus on maintaining the proper structure of the spine, which protects the spinal cord and nerve roots, which, in turn, control the body's functions. According to neurosurgeon, Walker Robinson, M.D., of the University of Maryland Medical Center, when neck muscles contract, they pull on the connective tissue of the neck and head, which affects the sensitive nerve filled membrane covering the brain and spinal cord. It is the stress and strain on these nerves surrounding the brain, along with inflamed blood vessels, that cause the pain. (The brain feels no pain by itself which is why neurosurgeons can do brain surgery while the patient is conscious.)

So, often, headaches start in the neck and chiropractors specialize in making sure that the spinal bones of the neck are in correct position. With the spinal bones (called vertebrae) in correct position, the muscles that support the head are relieved of stress and spasms. The pain is diminished as the structure of the spinal bones of the neck is improved. Chiropractic addresses the cause of the pain of migraines. Relief from migraines comes with the restoration of proper health.