Most people grab a bottle of aspirin or ibuprofen when they have a headache for temporary pain relief but if you frequently suffer headaches, your chiropractor in Tacoma offers drug-free, rapidly effective treatment for headaches and migraines. One of the most common headaches treated by chiropractors is the simple tension headache caused by stress, eye strain, fatigue, neck muscle tenseness or environmental irritants. Tension headaches exert a mild or moderate sensation of pressure and achiness around your head that should not interfere with completing work or other daily tasks. Your Tacoma chiropractor can help reduce occurrences of tension headaches with adjustments, massage, and advice regarding your posture and lifestyle.

Cluster Headaches

Affecting more women than men, cluster headaches are described as suddenly emerging, intensely painful headaches recurring in cycles or groups. Like migraines, cluster headaches target only one side of your head. Some people suffer one-sided nasal congestion and watery eyes during a cluster headache attack. However, cluster headaches do not cause nausea, light sensitivity and vision disturbances that characterize a migraine.

Rebound Headaches

People who take too many OTC painkillers to relieve headaches may suffer "rebound" headaches, or headaches caused by the brain shifting into a highly stimulated state which triggers more headaches. For heavy users of analgesics, rebound headaches may be a sign the body is actually experiencing withdrawal symptoms as the level of medication decreases in the bloodstream.

Migraine Headaches

Signs your head pain may be a migraine include having severe, throbbing pain on one side of your head, feeling nauseous, vomiting once or twice, experiencing visual distortions (blurriness, halos around lights) and suffering extreme fatigue. Migraines last longer than regular headaches, sometimes as long as two or three days. Most people with migraines can do nothing except lie in a dark, quiet room and wait for a migraine to diminish.

Spinal adjustments remove nerve compression and alleviate stress on your central nervous system while massage therapy on your neck and head relieves muscle tension and spasms. Chiropractors also offer nutritional and posture advice and can show you several effective relaxation techniques to help reduce severity and occurrence of headaches.