What is causing my migraine headaches?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The cause of a migraine is not from the food you eat, your hormonal cycle, or your sleep alone. There are actually numerous causes that can collectively contribute to a migraine, and they are neuro-musculoskeletal in origin.
The first and most important cause is from compression at the base of the skull in a region called the occiput. When this area is restricted it causes muscle tension and inflammation that impede normal blood and nerve flow to the scalp. This is the reason that you will often feel pain at the base of your skull and in your temples during or before a migraine. As the blood vessels are compressed at the base of your skull, it forces blood to be pushed into the arteries in your temple and eye regions. This expands the blood vessels and causes activation of pain receptors, often sharp or throbbing as the vessels constrict and expand in an effort to control blood regulation. However, the source is at the compression in the back of the skull/upper neck (occiput).
The second cause is from cervical (neck) misalignments. This causes abnormal muscle tightening and torsion of vertebrae that contribute to occipital misalignments and suboccipital compression of blood vessels and nerves. This can eventually cause migraine events.
The third is from postural changes. These changes occur from work environments, old injuries, or weakness in specific muscle groups (globally the tone of the extensor and core muscles associated with posture). Individuals start to notice a slumping of the shoulders, which forces the head and neck forward. The head compensates by extending backwards so we can keep our eyes level with the horizon (the righting reflex), increasing compression at the base of the skull and further affecting the region associated with migraines
The fourth is from reduced rib expansion, causing a reduction in oxygen. If your ribs can’t expand, than your lungs can’t expand. This reduces oxygenation in the blood stream and your body responds by attempting to pump more blood to the brain. However, since the arteries are constricting in an attempt to pump more blood up to the head, we get a dilation response, which activates the pain receptors. This also causes excess blood flow into the arteries of the temple and eye regions, increasing pain receptor activation and migraine symptoms.
Reducing rib expansion will cause a person to breathing upwards, lifting their rib cage in an attempt to gain more oxygenation. This causes tightening of the upper back and shoulder muscles, as well as the muscles of the neck. Torsion is creates in the cervical spine and ultimately in the occiput, creating compression and migraine symptoms.
The fifth cause is from abnormal vestibular output. The vestibular system is a labrynthine network that controls postural tone in the cervical spine and in the legs. It is extremely important in controlling our overall posture and eye movements. Hence, it can create postural head tilting and neck torsion as a result of dysfunction, which leads to compression at the occiput. The suboccipital muscles are extremely important for feedback into this system, and once part of this cycle is affected (vestibular or suboccipital) it can continue to spiral into chronic migraines unless appropriately treated.
Why can I get dizziness, nausea and visual symptoms during a migraine? As stated earlier, the neck and occipital regions have a large amount of projections to the vestibular system. The vestibular apparatus then communicates with the cerebellum and ultimately the brain stem in an area called the Ponto-Medullary Reticular Formation. This area is adjacent to the centers controlling nausea and digestion, thus there is nausea and dizziness often associated due to a dysfunction in the vestibular and brain stem connection to the cervical and occipital spine.
At Portland Chiropractic Neurology, we are committed to treating patients from Portland, Maine, and the surrounding communities who are suffering from migraines. If you have questions about your unique case, please contact our office at 699-5600 and we will arrange a private consultation just for you.
