When dealing with migraines headaches one aspect to make sure that you pay special attention to is the curve in the neck. There are several reasons why this is important. First, when the neck goes into the flexion otherwise known as anterior head posture it puts an increase in stress on the spinal cord and nerve roots. In the above picture you can see a cadaver and the spinal cord and nerve roots that are effected by the position of the neck. As the neck looses the curve, the spinal cord builds tension and creates tightness in the nerve roots. The nerve roots also have decrease space when they are in the forward head posture. When looking at the right image you can see that there is no extra room for nerve root to exit the spinal column. This means that a person that is having tingling or numbness down the arms could be due to the shape of their neck curve. The picture on the left is of a spine that has their neck in proper alignment. When the tension builds on the spinal cord, it also puts pressure on the brainstem in which controls the daily activities of life. The second important aspect of keeping the proper head posture is that you decrease the stress on the muscles used to keep the head upright. As you loose the structure of the spine, you place extra stress on the muscles used to maintain the posture that you have. This can be felt in most people as the tightness in the upper trap or shoulder blade area. When correcting the imbalances in the posture, the decrease in tension from the spinal cord and muscles allow for the body to have optimal function. Optimal function will be the key to getting rid of the headaches and migraines that tend to affect millions of Americans each week. Call the chiropractor in Hinsdale Chicago to help get rid of this problem.
