Intro: After being in a car accident, it’s common for people to suffer from headaches or migraines. This is due to the extreme force that car accidents put upon a person’s body. Frequent headaches can have a negative impact on a person’s life, making daily tasks difficult. Discover Life Chiropractic’s experts in Tacoma can help relieve headache symptoms, helping our patients lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.
What causes headaches after car accidents?
- Stress is known to be a factor contributing to headaches and migraines. Car accidents and the aftermath are extremely stressful. Stress headaches are also known as tension headaches, because they are usually caused by muscle tension. Stress can cause jaw clenching, loss of sleep, and muscle tightness. All of these can lead to chronic head pain.
- Traumatic brain injuries, even more minor ones like concussions, can lead to chronic headaches. Car accidents often cause brain injuries either from the head hitting the inside of the vehicle, or from the brain hitting the inside of the skull. After being concussed, people may experience symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, memory and concentration issues, sensitivity, and headaches.
- If you ended up with a whiplash injury from a car accident, you may experience headaches. The jerking motion that causes whiplash injures and strains soft tissues. Whiplash headaches usually originate at the base of the skull, and may bring other symptoms including neck pain and stiffness, fatigue, numbness, and dizziness. Whiplash is one of the most common causes of headaches after car accidents, and symptoms may not appear right away.
- Car accidents can also cause spine injuries that lead to pinched or irritated nerves. When nerves have extra pressure on them, it can cause radiating pain, loss of neck mobility, numbness, tenderness, and tingling. The headache pain starts at the base of the head and then travels behind the eyes, to the forehead, or up the back of the head. It often happens on only one side.
- Direct trauma to the head or neck from a car accident can cause what are known as post-traumatic headaches. Headaches after direct impact should not be ignored, because they could indicate serious issues such as brain damage or neck vertebrae/skull fractures. Trauma headaches can be intense. The pain is either localized to the injured area, or spread throughout the neck and head.
- Muscle strain from a car accidents can also lead to headaches. As mentioned before, whiplash is a common type of soft tissue injury that can result in headaches. But other muscle injuries such as tears, spasms, or strains can lead to headaches. Muscle strains can also lead to pain with movement, tenderness, swelling, and stiffness.
Our Tacoma Headache Chiropractic Treatment
Discover Life Chiropractic has specialized treatment for patients suffering from headaches. We utilize upper cervical lateral bending X-rays to examine the vertebrae of the neck. If we see overhang of the C1 vertebra onto the C2 vertebra, this could be a cause of headaches. This overhang can happen when there is trauma to the head and neck ligaments in car accidents. Only a select few chiropractors can perform this x-ray and know what they’re looking at.
When a patient comes to us with headaches or migraines after a car accident, we perform a diagnostic x-ray to see if we can determine a physical cause. Our experts then create a treatment plan to help stabilize the upper cervical area.
Discover Life Chiropractic is the only practitioner of the Blue Cranial Technique in our part of Washington. This involves analyzing a patient’s skull plates (which the brain case is composed of). Our technique involves gently restoring motion to skull plates that may be stuck. Our treatments have helped patients experience relief from headaches and migraines. People come to us from near and far to receive our specialized care.
What should I do if I’m experiencing headaches after being in an auto accident?
You may not experience a headache right away after being in a car accident. Often, headache symptoms may take some time to appear. It’s important to not just “tough it out” and ignore your symptoms. The pain may not go away on its own, and it’s important that you get examined after being in a car accident. You don’t want any potential injuries to go untreated.
Conclusion: For effective headache relief, get in touch with Discover Life Chiropractic. We can diagnose car accident injuries that may be causing headaches. Our treatments can help manage and end headache pain. Don’t continue suffering from headaches, managing them only with painkillers. We can offer real solutions, and the sooner you schedule an appointment, the sooner we can help you on the path to whole-body wellness.
FAQ's:
I’m experiencing chronic headaches after being in a car accident. What should I do?
Discover Life Chiropractic can find the source of your headaches and offer specialized treatment targeting the issue. Many of our patients experience relief from headaches.
What does chiropractic treatment for headaches look like?
Discover Life Chiropractic offers chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and specialized treatment plans that aim to treat the root causes of headaches.
Why is it important to stick to your treatment regimen?
Following professional recommendations can help you heal faster and correctly. It can help prevent chronic headaches and other issues in the long-term.
My car accident was minor, could I still have gotten injured from it?
Most patients experience symptom reduction or full resolution over time, depending on the condition. Our care often includes specific spinal rehabilitation, with progress monitored through regular re-exams to ensure treatment is working and adjusted when needed.
I take painkillers every day for my headaches. Isn’t that good enough?
Over-relying on painkillers can lead to dependence on them to feel normal. Instead of masking symptoms, a chiropractor can help treat the actual cause of your headaches or migraines.
