Typical modern medical treatment of migraines often involves the avoidance of various foods like chocolate, tyramine-containing cheese and alcoholic beverages. In addition, various medications are used in an attempt to either abort the migraine once it has started, or prevent a future one from occurring. Abortive headache medications, such as Imitrex, Amerge and Axert, may be used to treat and emerging migraine. Prophylactic medications, on the other hand, are used in an attempt to prevent a migraine, and include Inderal, Depakote and tricyclic antidepressants. Many doctors often start by recommending nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen, as they have fewer side effects than anti- migraine medications. Nontraditional treatments, such as acupuncture or the herb feverfew, may also be tried to help reduce the pain or the frequency of the migraines experienced. And, if all else fails, stronger pain relievers like narcotics may be prescribed.

The bottom line of all these approaches is that the individual becomes dependent on these drugs and often lives in fear of the next migraine attack. In addition, none of these approaches does anything to address one of the potential root causes of this condition – lax ligaments or tendons in the neck – and, thus, do nothing to alleviate the chronic pain afflicted individuals experience. Furthermore, some of these drugs not only lead to a dependency and create stress and fear surrounding the next potential migraine, but, in the long run, they may actually do more damage than good. For example, although anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to produce short-term pain benefit, they result in long-term loss of function and even more chronic pain by actually inhibiting the healing process of soft tissues and accelerating cartilage degeneration. Plus, long-term use of these drugs can lead to other sources of chronic pain, allergies and leaky gut syndrome.

Many migraine sufferers claim that neck pain and tightness is associated with their migraine and that these sensations usually signal the start of the headache. This is a very clear sign that the source of the migraine, for these individuals, is in the neck. It is also a very clear sign that for many individuals, Chiropractic is the best curative treatment. If the primary cause of the migraine headache stems from ligament or tendon weakness or injury to the neck, a high success rate with Chiropractic can be expected.

However, migraine headaches rarely involve just one clear-cut cause and should not be treated in isolation. Food sensitivities, hormone deficiencies or excesses involving estradiol or progesterone, and yeast infections may also be involved and must be treated.

That means Chiropractic will be combined with natural supplements and treatments such as the elimination of allergic foods, natural hormone supplementation or yeast infection treatment. For example, if a woman's migraine usually occurs at a particular part of her menstrual cycle, a hormonal abnormality may be involved, usually low progesterone level during the second half of the menstrual cycle. Taking natural progesterone during this part of the cycle will often relieve the problem. If, on the other hand, the migraine occurs after particular foods are consumed, during particular times of the year or when the individual is exposed to certain scents, an allergic component may be involved. In fact, migraines are a common symptom of food allergies, and eliminating the food often does the trick. The role of the diet on the patient's pH is also critical, and Metabolic Typing may be used to measure the pH of the blood, urine and saliva. Balancing a patient's pH is generally very helpful in eliminating migraine headaches.

In summary, treating migraines should involve not only Chiropractic to address structural issues, but additional natural treatments to address the other symptoms involved with most migraines.