Relief for Your Unique Headache Pain

Many people suffer needlessly from headaches in Calgary. The main problem is treating the pain rather than the cause. We determine the source of your symptoms – the cause of your headaches – then develop treatments to fix your issue using a variety of advanced techniques. We are experts in many effective headache pain relief techniques including traditional chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, laser treatments, shockwave therapy and spinal decompressions..

What kind of headache do you suffer from?

Headaches can be classified into three major types with many other sub categories. The three major types are migraine, tension headaches and cluster headaches (see below for detailed descriptions). We even have a unique Calgary headache – Chinook headaches.

The cause of your headache pain will depend on a number of factors. You could start with one type of headache that could lead or exacerbate into other type of headache, say protracted and untreated tension headaches that lead to migraines. Our deep understanding of the causes of headaches and effective treatment will help you determine the kind of headache you suffer from and the specific headache treatment that will provide relief.

What we do to ease your headache pain

The Century Wellness Centre in Calgary has been treating acute headache pain for over 20 years. We use our years of experience, deep knowledge and advanced technologies to ensure the cause of your headaches is properly diagnosed.

A thorough patient history, examination and assessments of your musculoskeletal system, and special imaging technology, will pinpoint the nature of your headaches leading to effective solutions to your specific headache pain. These important insights will assist in developing recovery plans that include self-help habits and exercises leading to permanent solutions to your headache challenges.

As experts in a wide variety of techniques from traditional chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage, to laser treatments, shockwave therapy , spinal decompressions and athletic manual therapy we will identify a solution leading to a speedy and long lasting recovery.

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What you can do to reduce your headaches

By identifying contributing factors through our thorough patient history, examination and special imaging technology, you will be able to change your behavior to reduce or stop your headaches.

For example, migraines can be the result of years of tension on the postural muscles in your neck and upper shoulders that are then agitated by triggers from food, light and sound. Poor ergonomics and sustained sedentary work habits contribute to muscular imbalance and therefore contributing to the tension headaches. Lack of regimented exercises and overuse of substances such as cigarettes and alcohol could place metabolic stresses to the body, which could lead in congestion and irritations that lead to cluster headache patterns.

By understanding what causes your headaches, you can reduce the triggers. We can help you identify those triggers and deliver headache relief.

Identifying trigger points

Start tracking things that trigger your headache through a daily log. For example, are stress levels leading to tightness in your neck and shoulder areas? Are your headaches more prevalent in the morning or towards the evening? What was the weather doing? What activities were you engaged in? Are their any smells that could be the trigger, like perfume or tobacco?

We can teach you self-help trigger point therapy in the neck and shoulder regions including the application of gentle pressure and deep breathing. Other exercises and stretching programs can contribute to reductions in headaches as well.

For more information, or to book a complimentary trigger point workshop, click here.

Types of Headaches

Migraine Headaches in Calgary (Chinook Headaches)

Migraine headaches typically pulsate affecting one side of your head, or switch from side to side. They are aggravated with triggers such as wine, chocolate, caffeine and food that contains tyrosine such as aged meat. Bright lights and sounds can increase the intensity of migraine headaches to the point of causing nausea/vomiting. Migraine sufferers often experience a visual disturbance before a full onset of the headaches. Some people who experience migraine headaches could have unexplained genetic predisposition to them, however most migraine headaches could be the result of years of tension that has been built up on the postural muscles of the neck and upper shoulders that are agitated by triggers from food, light, sound or weather (like Chinook headaches). Typically over the counter medication has no affect in alleviating migraine headaches. We can help deliver Calgary migraine relief.

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches are the most common type of headache. They are related to stresses that are placed upon the postural muscles and skeletal systems in your neck and upper shoulder regions. Past injuries to the neck and shoulder regions, such as old whiplash accidents, sports trauma and falls could cause musculoskeletal imbalances that lead to tension headaches. Poor ergonomics and sustained sedentary work habits could also contribute to muscular imbalance. Sustained untreated tension headaches could potentially compound leading to migraine headaches as well. Tension headaches usually exhibit multiple trigger points in the specific muscles of the neck and upper shoulders. Chronic tension headaches can also be easily influenced by sudden weather changes in Calgary due to hypersensitivity of postural muscles in the neck and shoulders. There are many Calgarians that suffer from Chinook headaches that struggle to find solutions. Over the counter medication bring only temporary relief with potential harmful side effects with overuse.

Cluster Headaches

Cluster headaches have patterns around the eyes that last between 30 minutes to 2 hours. They typically affect males and are often associated with habitual use of alcohol and smoking. These headaches are also associated with tear duct irritation and congestion to the sinus. Lack of regimented exercise and overuse of substances such as cigarettes and alcohol place metabolic stresses on the body, which could lead in congestion and irritations that lead to cluster headache patterns.

Relief for your headache pain.

We identify the cause of your headaches and we will develop treatment to provide effective headache pain relief.

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