Migraine Triggers and Promising Chiropractic Treatment

Mary Franz - Dec 03rd, 2010

If you suffer from migraines, you may have been asked by a health care professional to keep track of your daily habits and how they affect the frequency, duration, and intensity of your migraines. You may begin to see a pattern that can identify migraine triggers. By doing so, you might be able to avoid some triggers (such as different types of food or caffeine).

In a recent study printed in the Headache journal (1), types of migraine triggers were analyzed in a clinic-based population. Ninety-one percent of participants reported at least one trigger, and more than 82 percent reported multiple triggers. The most common? Emotional stress. Other frequent triggers included too much or too little sleep, odors, and missing meals.

The majority (62 percent) of menstruating women reported that menses was a trigger, and out of those, 67 percent said that migraines experienced during menses were more severe and less responsive to medication and other symptomatic treatment.

Although it makes sense to limit triggers that can be avoided (too much or too little sleep and/or missing meals), other triggers including emotional stress can be difficult or impossible to avoid. However, another study shows that there is hope for migraine sufferers.

A 12-month Australian study (2) showed promising results that spinal manipulative therapy may be the answer to migraine headaches for many. After the initial 6 months of treatment, the participants showed significant improvement in frequency, duration and medication usage. Further evaluation at a 6-month follow-up also showed significant improvement.

Although a larger study is required to prove that spinal manipulative therapy should be a usual course of treatment for migraines, the results of this study certainly indicate that chiropractic care for migraines may be the answer.

1. Headache. 2010 Sep;50(8):1366-70
2. Australas Chiropr Osteopathy. 1999 Jul;8(2):61-5