National Migraine & Headache Awareness Month: How Chiro, Massage and Acupuncture Can Ease Your Pain

For those who experience migraines and headaches, everyday tasks during an episode become extremely difficult. That’s why June is National Migraine & Headache Awareness Month. This event encourages those with headaches and migraines to get proper diagnosis and treatment, while highlighting the available options for relief. Chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture are three treatment methods that may reduce the frequency and severity of these conditions.

What’s the Difference Between Migraines and Headaches?

It’s important to understand the difference between these two headache disorders. Most people will experience a headache at some point in their lives. However, migraines are a recurrent, often debilitating condition that affect 1 in 7 people, according to the World Health Organization.

Headaches are usually short-term, lasting for a few hours — although, you may experience them in clusters for days at a time. A headache is characterized by mild to severe pressure or aching on both sides of the head.

Depending on the type of headache you’re experiencing, the causes may vary:

• Stress
• Muscle tension or strain
• Sinuses or illness

On the other hand, migraine episodes can last anywhere from hours to days and cause a more intense reaction than a headache. In fact, migraines are accompanied by several symptoms beyond head pain:

• Nausea
• Pain behind the eyes or ears
• Light sensitivity
• Temporary loss of vision
• Seeing spots or flashes of light
• Vomiting

While more research is needed to determine the exact cause of migraine, it’s becoming clearer that this condition stems from the nervous system. More specifically, it is an instability in how the brain deals with certain sensory information.

Some of these sensory triggers, include:

• Bright lights
• Loud noises
• Stress or anxiety
• Alcohol
• Hormonal changes

Treatment Options for Migraines & Headaches in Bend

Generally, migraine and headaches are treated using over-the-counter medications — and prescriptions in severe cases. However, these options treat the symptoms rather than the source of your problem. Holistic chiropractic care aims to get to the root cause of your discomfort and deliver longer-lasting results.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic adjustments fix subluxations, or misalignments, in the spine that can put pressure on the nerves and trigger headaches. By restoring the proper alignment and nerve function, chiropractic care can potentially reduce the frequency of attacks.

Massage Therapy

If your headaches stem from muscle tightness or stress, then massage therapy is clear choice. Your massage therapist in Bend will focus on trigger points in the back, shoulder, neck, and head. This technique releases pressure in the compressed nerves that are sending pain signals and making your headache worse.

Not to mention, massage therapy in Bend provides mental and physical relaxation to combat stress and tension headaches. Other benefits include:

• Relaxing tense muscles putting pressure on nerve pathways
• Relieving muscle spasms
• Improving blood flow to vessels that supply the brain

Acupuncture

Acupuncture focuses on the same trigger points as massage therapy. However, rather than simply releasing pressure, your acupuncturist in Bend signals the release of hormones and endorphins that make headache pain more bearable. This treatment option is also thought to help because of how it stimulates the immune and circulatory systems.

The best chiropractic care in Bend aims to keep you comfortable well after your appointment ends. That’s why our trained staff not only offers these treatment options for headaches, but we also give you lifestyle recommendations that may make your migraines and headaches more manageable.

Chiropractic Care for Runners: Preventing Plantar Fasciitis

Do you know that sharp pain in your heel when you first step out of bed in the morning? Well, it could be plantar fasciitis. If you’ve recently started running or even just stand on your feet all day, you may already be familiar with this condition. In fact, it is the leading cause of heel pain, especially among middle-aged adults. Fortunately, chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture work together to alleviate symptoms and promote healing.

Continue reading to learn your options for treating this condition:

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis occurs when the ligament that connects the heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia) has small tears. This ligament becomes inflamed, swollen, and weak, which results in sharp, stabbing pain. Discomfort is more common when you first wake up, after exercising (rather than during it), while walking upstairs, during long days of standing, and after periods of inactivity.

This condition typically results for several reasons:

• Excessive exercise, especially for new runners, long-distance runners, and dancers
• Obesity because of excess pressure on the plantar fascia
• Flat feet or extremely high arches
• Standing on your feet all day
• Wearing shoes with poor arch support, like sandals and worn-out sneakers

Plantar fasciitis also more commonly affects those between the ages of 40 and 60 but can strike at any time.

Treatment Options for Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis can become chronic if left untreated. That’s why it’s important to seek out comprehensive treatment to help heal your condition and avoid surgery.

1. Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care in Bend is a great treatment option for plantar fasciitis. Your chiropractor in Bend will not only manually adjust your joints, but they will also offer stretches you can do at home to avoid pain.

Chiropractic care provides several benefits for those with the condition:

• Eliminates pressure to reduce stress on the ligament
• Minimizes secondary injuries that can occur from misalignments in the hips, low back, ankles, and knees.
• Promotes healing by giving the feet time to rest

2. Massage Therapy

Massage therapy in Bend focuses on the muscles and other soft tissues that may contribute to plantar fasciitis. These muscles are mainly in the calf, such as the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris. Muscles and tendons in the feet also contribute to this condition.

Using myofascial release, deep tissue, and stretching techniques, your massage therapist in Bend provides relief in these ways:

• Breaking down scar tissue in the foot
• Improving blood flow to the affected area for quicker healing of tears
• Relaxation of tight and restricted muscles

3. Acupuncture

Your acupuncturist in Bend will carefully place tiny needles in the foot and appropriate areas which will then:

• Rebalance nerve signals to provide immediate pain relief
• Release and lengthen overly tight muscles
• Promote proper healing

How to Prevent Plantar Fasciitis

There are several steps you can take to prevent your condition from worsening:

• Stretch your calves and feet before and after exercise
• Buy shoes with good arch supports or use inserts
• Opt for low impact exercises while you’re healing, like swimming
• Rest and ice your feet each day for 10 to 15 minutes

At Total Body Chiropractic & Massage in Bend, we offer these services to address and treat plantar fasciitis in a non-invasive way. We additionally offer Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT), which can desensitize nerves and break up scar tissue for further comfort and relief from this condition. We deliver the best chiropractic care in Bend that not only targets your problem areas but also improves full-body function to help you feel your best.

How Chiropractic and Massage Can Relieve Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

Spring is in full swing, and seasonal allergies are at an all-time high. Because May is the peak of allergy season, it has been declared National Allergy & Asthma Awareness Month. Over 65 million people in America experience symptoms from these conditions, ranging from coughing, sneezing, and runny nose to shortness of breath, muscle pain, and chest tightness. However, with the help of the best chiropractic care in Bend, your symptoms do not have to ruin your season.

Continue reading to learn how chiropractic and massage therapy in Bend can reduce the severity of common allergy symptoms to make you more comfortable this month.

What causes allergies?

Allergies occur when non-harmful particles enter the body and are perceived as a threat. The immune system then overreacts to these “foreign invaders” to fight them off and dispel them by sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, etc.

The most common allergy triggers during this season include:

• Pollen
• Grass
• Dust
• Pet Dander
• Mold

While you can cut down on the prevalence of some of these allergens with a thorough cleaning, there are some things you can’t avoid, like the outdoors. That’s why it is important to actively control your symptoms with comprehensive treatment options, like chiropractic care in Bend.

Can chiropractic care ease allergy symptoms?

Chiropractic care is a popular treatment option for several conditions, from neck and back pain and migraines to sports injuries and even allergies. Unlike traditional methods, chiropractor care provides relief by targeting the cause of your allergies to prevent severe reactions rather than just dulling symptoms. Not to mention, conventional allergy medication may cause drowsiness and nausea.

Research shows a clear link between the nervous system and the immune system. So, when there are misalignments in the spine, these two systems cannot communicate properly. Chiropractic adjustments remove this interference so that the immune system can fight off allergens more effectively without such a severe reaction.

Misalignments in the upper back are also known for increased shortness of breath in people with asthma. So, regular chiropractic care can potentially allow better airflow.

How does massage therapy in Bend alleviate allergies?

Massage therapy shows promise in providing immediate relief of allergy symptoms. Your massage therapist in Bend will use lymphatic drainage techniques boost the circulation of lymph and other fluids to ease sinus congestion — one of the most common allergy symptoms. Likewise, massage therapy improves blood flow, which can quickly ease sinus headaches and other discomforts.

It’s no secret that stress is the root cause of various health conditions, and allergies are no different. Studies even show that stress can significantly increase the severity of your symptoms. Massage therapy provides mental and physical relaxation to decrease the body’s reaction to allergens.

You shouldn’t have to suffer through your allergies the whole spring and summer. Regular chiropractic care and massage can enhance your body’s ability to fight off allergens and keep your symptoms at bay.