| I rarely get a headache, but when I do it always | | | | of headaches come and go due to the head and |
| amazes me at how awful I feel. I'm not just | | | | body position. The ergonomic position you |
| bothered by the pain but my entire mood is | | | | maintain for a prolonged period of time will |
| altered. I feel like I want to crawl into bed and not | | | | determine how much pressure develops in this |
| come out until it's gone. I can't imagine living with | | | | delicate nerve bundle. According to x-ray findings |
| headaches which alot of people do. I also noticed | | | | some people have more space in this area which |
| that my first response to a headache is always | | | | makes them less likely to develop headaches |
| to take a pill to try to alleviate it. I see hundreds | | | | from this postural distortion. Men generally are less |
| of patients annually with this scenario and most of | | | | likely to develop the FHP headache due to a larger |
| these patients have had the headaches for years | | | | space as well. People with computer jobs are at |
| and pop over the counter pain relievers by the | | | | highest risk because of the constant sitting and |
| thousands. I have read the latest statistics | | | | forward driven ergonomics that are placed on the |
| involving the devastating side effects of these | | | | body in this type of job scenario. |
| medications published by the New England Journal | | | | So how do we correct this condition and eliminate |
| of Medicine and that is why I am writing this | | | | those nasty headaches once and for all? You |
| article. | | | | have to first take into consideration what created |
| I have been in chiropractic practice for over ten | | | | the postural dysfunction in the first place, |
| years and have eliminated thousands of | | | | remember it is a learned posture. There are three |
| headaches without medication. The trick to | | | | primary tissues you need to take into |
| permanently eliminating headaches is to correct | | | | consideration: joints, muscles, and ligaments. |
| the cause. According to an article that was | | | | Restricted joint motion must be eliminated |
| published by a leading dental expert, the | | | | through chiropractic adjustments. Slow twitch |
| suboccipital nerve bundle(a bunch of nerves that | | | | muscles must be retrained or stimulated, this can |
| sit between the base of the head and the top of | | | | be done through reactive head weighting, I'll |
| your neck)is continuous with the meningial sheath | | | | explain later. Ligaments do not respond to either |
| that covers your brain. This meningial sheath is | | | | adjusting or exercise and this is why long term |
| thought to be the leading source of headaches, in | | | | correction often fails because most people that |
| fact when you drink to much alcohol this sheath is | | | | have tried chiropractic, massage, and exercise find |
| what causes the headache part of the hangover. | | | | it to be only short term relief. Ligaments need to |
| When we look at cause and cure we need | | | | be addressed through creep mechanisms which |
| enough cases to be sure that we have found the | | | | means pressure over time applied to a ligament |
| answer. I have personally seen 872 cases of | | | | will cause the ligament to uncoil and lengthen. |
| headaches with 871 of these cases having what is | | | | So at my office we have a 4 step process to |
| termed FHP "Forward Head Posture". In all 871 | | | | eliminate forward head posture. Adjustments first, |
| cases of forward head posture I was able to | | | | muscle detoxification second(this is done using a |
| eliminate or substantially reduce the forward head | | | | hand help vibrational tool and applied to the |
| posture. Guess how many cases the headache | | | | hyperactive muscles), ligament lengthening |
| pain was reduced or eliminated, that's right all of | | | | third(this is done using vibrational traction "VT" |
| them, Bingo. | | | | where a vibrating cylinder is placed under the |
| Forward head posture is commonly caused by | | | | neck and the head is then weighted to induce |
| poor ergonomics at work or at home. It is a | | | | extension and held for 7-15 minutes causing the |
| learned condition. Your body adapts in time and in | | | | anterior neck ligaments to lengthen. ) and last |
| need to its environment. By over utilizing certain | | | | glasses are placed on the patient which causes |
| muscle groups and under utilizing others you | | | | the head to rotate upward slightly and a |
| develop an imbalance. This primary imbalance was | | | | headband with weight in the front is put on to |
| documented by a well known neurosurgeon and | | | | cause the posterior neck muscles to become |
| spine rehabilitation expert Vladimir Janda, who | | | | active. This chain reaction causes the head |
| termed the imbalance upper cross syndrome. The | | | | posture to return to normal. I then place the |
| primary muscles that become hyperactive are | | | | patient on a whole body vibration platform with |
| the scalenes, SCM, and suboccipital group. This | | | | the headband on to cause the active posterior |
| causes the head to move forward but at the | | | | neck muscles to become hyperactive which |
| same time the head also rotates to a chin up | | | | speeds up the correction time. After several |
| position to accomodate the eye line. This head | | | | treatments the forward head posture is |
| rotation then closes the space between the | | | | eliminated and a simple home program with |
| occipital bone and the first cervical vertebrae. The | | | | ergonomic tips is in place to prevent return of the |
| suboccipital nerve bundle lies in this very tight | | | | FHP. Once the forward posture is successfully |
| space so when you have forward head posture | | | | eliminated so to are the headaches, neck pain, |
| you start pinching this nerve bundle which is linked | | | | shoulder tension, and other symptoms associated |
| with the meningial sheath and WHAM-O a | | | | with this common condition known as FORWARD |
| headache is generated. This also explains why alot | | | | HEAD POSTURE SYNDROME. |