Osteopathy to treat migraine

and headaches.

Can osteopathy and bio cranial osteopathy help treat

headaches? YES! Osteopathy is an effective treatment for

headaches.

Headaches are unfortunately very common, and there are

many types and causes. Some people can suffer from more

than one type

TENSION HEADACHE – long term muscle tension in the

shoulders &/or neck may result in a tension headache.

Often associated with stress , worry , overwork and

anxiety. Even more debilitating are migraines

Definition

A migraine in the majority of cases, is a painful sometimes

disabling headache that is preceded or accompanied by a

sensory warning sign (aura), such as flashes of light, blind

spots or tingling in your arm or leg . Migraine pain can be

excruciating or even incapacitating for hours or even days.

A migraine is also often accompanied by other signs and

symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and extreme

sensitivity to light and sound.

Cause

A migraine headache is caused by dramatic changes in the

blood vessels in the neck . The vessels or ‘pipe’, take fresh

blood to the brain. Dysfunctional signals from both nerves

and hormones/chemicals force the pipes that deliver blood

to the brain to contract and then dilate. The first phase, or

contraction phase, may last minutes, hours, or days.

During this phase, symptoms can be spots in front of the

eyes, difficulty concentrating, and cold fingertips and hands.

This is called an “aura”. Many people recognize this phase

of their headaches; many others don’t at first notice any

symptoms but can learn to recognize it.

When the blood vessels dilate, the headache pain starts.

The blood vessels over-react. Instead of just going from

a contracted state back to normal, they dilate much wider

than normal. This forces blood into the head faster than

it can drain out, causing pressure on the brain and a

release of certain chemicals and lots of pain.

There are a number of different processes that can cause

the dysfunctional imbalance of chemical messengers and

nerve signals leading to a migraine. However, as different

as many migraine sufferers situations may be, the main

cause of the mixed signals which cause the problem can

be tension around the head neck and shoulders.

Some forms of migraine can stem from irritation of the

nerves close to the neck or may be triggered by muscle

tension or stress.

Our treatment approach at the clinic invloves combining

cranial osteopathy, osteopathic manipulation, bio cranial

and postural advice. This approach is unique to Northern

Ireland. The treatment used has helped many headache

sufferers in the greater Belfast area and across Northern

Ireland.

Bio Cranial Osteopath Comber, Belfast and Bangor

www.biocranialosteopath.co.uk

41 Castle Street

Comber

BT23 5DY

Northern Ireland

02891871334