Types of Headaches

Migraine

This condition is accompanied by intense headaches. These headaches are often described as pounding, throbbing pain. They can last from 4 hours to 3 days and usually happen one to four times per month. Along with the pain, people have other symptoms, such as sensitivity to light, noise, or smells; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and upset stomach or belly pain.

Cluster headaches

This type is intense and feels like a burning or piercing pain behind or around one eye, either throbbing or constant. On the side of the pain, the eyelid droops, the eye reddens, pupil gets smaller or the eye tears.  The nostril on that side runs or stuffs. They’re called “cluster headaches” because they tend to happen in groups. Cluster headaches affect men 3-4 times more often than women.

Sinus headaches

With these, you feel a deep and constant pain in your cheekbones, forehead, or bridge of your nose. They happen when cavities in your head, called sinuses, get inflamed. The pain usually comes along with other sinus symptoms, such as a runny nose, feeling of fullness in the ears, fever, and swelling in your face. A true sinus headache is from a sinus infection so the nasal discharge is yellow or green, unlike the clear discharge in cluster or migraine.

Hormone headaches

Women can get headaches from changing hormone levels during their periods, pregnancy, and menopause. The hormone changes from birth control pills also trigger headaches in some women.

Dr. Alfonso & Dr. Berry is using new technologies and new methods to treat chronic headaches and effectively relieve headache pain!

A recent studies have shown that the majority of headaches are caused by the neck do to abnormal spinal alignment and abnormal postures. The most commonly from the loss of the normal lordosis or cervical curve  and forward head posture. We employ several techniques to correct or improve the cause and get you back to reduced or headache-free living!

This curve is designed to give your neck strength, as well as keep mechanical tension off your spinal cord. When there is a abnormal spinal alignment the muscles and ligaments work overtime to make up the spinal weakness resulting in muscle spasms that cause headaches. Tight neck, traps, and shoulder muscles pull on the base of your skull (occipital ridge) and the side of the vertebrae at the top of your neck.

This causes a tremendous amount of tension and stretching on the surrounding tissue muscles, ligaments, arteries, and nerves in an addition tension through your jaw and head. The muscle group in the back of the neck, the front of the neck, and the upper chest can create a pattern that causes pressure and pain. These issues can be resolved with proper treatment from the Dr. Alfonso & Dr. Berry.