We often think headaches are caused by different stressful triggers. It could be long days at work, staring at a computer screen all night, or the aggravation of spending an extended amount of time stuck in traffic. Some of us get headaches after drinking red wine or eating certain foods. While these triggers make headaches develop and worsen, they are not necessarily the underlying cause of the problem. Some people get headaches after exercise or working in the garden, but these activities cannot be considered the cause—they are aggravating factors.

What is often overlooked is: why are your defenses no match for these minor life stressors? Why do you get the headache while your friend who has the same experiences does not? Even in the case of the flu, you have to consider the strength of the person’s immune system more so than the virus. Older adults who get the flu tend to have a worse problem than someone younger.

You have to look at symptoms such as head pain in the same way. Serious causes such as tumors or strokes have to be ruled out, but these types of problems are very rare. Headaches are common in society today. Have you seen the pain reliever aisle at the supermarket recently? It’s as if over-the-counter medications are a ‘food” group in and of themselves.

Is there a spinal problem that causes the neck to go forward creating tightness and muscle tension? What is the underlying weakness that needs to be corrected? We rarely look at the causes of things. Our healthcare system is more concerned with covering up bothersome symptoms with medications or injections. A more long-term and natural solution is to seek out the underlying cause of a problem and get it fixed. In many cases, it is the spinal injury that is producing or contributing to the headache. Getting these problems corrected can get you back in the game and improve your quality of life.

Pain is one way your body lets you know there’s a problem. It is a signal to your brain that something is wrong and action needs to be taken. Rather than masking the symptoms, why not consider consulting a doctor of chiropractic to see if there is an underlying spinal cause?