Chronic Migraines Gone with Chiropractic Care

The Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research published the results of a case study on January 11, 2022, documenting the resolution of chronic migraine headaches with chiropractic care. According to the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus, "Migraines are a recurring type of headache. They cause moderate to severe pain that is throbbing or pulsing. The pain is often on one side of your head. You may also have other symptoms, such as nausea and weakness. You may be sensitive to light and sound."

This study begins by noting how common migraines are in children stating, "...migraine occurs in 3% to 10% of children and currently affects 50/1000 school-age children in the UK and an estimated 7.8 million children in the EU." They continue, "In the United States, nearly 1 in 4 U.S. households includes someone with migraines. Twelve percent of the population – including children – suffers from migraines. Specifically, 18% of American women, 6% of men, and 10% of children experience migraines."

In this case, a 15-year-old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his parents. The boy had been suffering with chronic migraine headaches for years. The history revealed that at the age of three, the boy was involved in a car accident. Shortly thereafter, he began to have visual disturbances and said he was seeing "halos." The boy also said that at times objects would appear very small or distorted. Out of concern, his parents took their son to a neurologist who diagnosed the boy with "migraine activity."

At the age of six, the boy started to experience full blown migraine headaches approximately once every three weeks. Sometime later, the boy was hit while playing football and he started to experience constant sharp headaches with migraine type episodes that occurred every day. His mother noted that his headaches became more frequent and severe as her son grew older. By the age of 15, the boy described the headaches as constant and sharp that "comes and goes" with migraine intensity.

A chiropractic examination was performed which included spinal palpation, range of motion, several orthopedic tests and spinal x-rays. The tests confirmed the presence of subluxation with the x-rays specifically showing misalignments of the upper two bones in the neck, the atlas and axis.

With the consent of the parents, specific chiropractic adjustments were started to address the subluxations. The study reports that instantly after the first adjustment, changes were noticed. "Immediately after the first adjustment, there was a considerable change in the child's mood and presentation. He got up from the table smiling, eyes widened. As he was resting, he noted that the sharp pressure he was experiencing prior was starting to alleviate."

The boy continued to improve as his care continued. In a 24-month follow-up, it was reported that the boy had only had 5 migraines in the prior 24 months as compared to constant pain and a full migraine every three weeks before he started chiropractic.

In the study's discussion and conclusion, the authors wrote, "Headache is one of the most common complaints in children, with migraine and tension-type headaches being the most frequent diseases. Migraine headaches have been placed with a prevalence of 3% in children 3–7 years old and increasing to 4–11% between 7 and 11 years old. We described the successful care of a 15-year-old male suffering from chronic recurrent migraine headaches with successful outcomes."