What Can Cause a Headache?

Headaches occur for a reason. A headache is your body's way of signaling you that something is not right. Some of the milder headaches are the result of occasional "morning after" problems brought on by excessive smoking, drinking or eating. Others may be the indirect symptom of eye strain, improper diet, hunger, poor lighting, excessive noise, constipation, foul air, daily pressures or infection, to name a few. In rare cases, headaches can be attributed to organic conditions such as brain tumors or diabetes.

Doctors of Chiropractic recognize that a headache is the body's warning alarm that pain may also be attributed to muscle tension and irritation of the nerves and blood vessels in the neck. The seven cer- vical vertebrae (spinal bones) can become misa- ligned from excessive physical and emotional stress. This misalignment can irritate the nerve roots in the neck and may even cause minor constriction in some vessels which supply blood to the brain. When this happens, a headache can strike ... once, twice, again and again. If not cared for, more serious symptoms may develop.