A majority of the headaches that are created by chiropractic adjustments come from chemical reactions in the brain. These chemical reactions are caused by toxins that get released into the body during the chiropractic care process.
For the most part, we have all been conditioned to believe that chiropractic adjustments will usually help us resolve certain medical issues. In most cases, that is absolutely true. What most people don’t realize is there are certain side effects that could be created by chiropractic treatments.
The primary side effect that comes from chiropractic treatments is headaches. It’s not a chronic issue nor is it something that will happen with every treatment session. It’s just something that comes about on a temporary basis because of chemical reactions to poisonous toxins being released into the bloodstream during chiropractic adjustments.
Why Do Headaches Occur After a Chiropractic Spinal Adjustment?
Chiropractic treatments encompass two activities. Chiropractors will use chiropractic adjustments or certain massage therapies to address pain and body alignment issues. These treatments are specifically intended to help heal injuries and provide relief from pain.
It’s not uncommon for clients to experience temporary headaches right after a chiropractic treatment session. It occurs at the conclusion of treatment because of the sudden release of excess toxins into the bloodstream. Headaches serve as an indication that the body is being overwhelmed by something.
Are headaches created by a chiropractic adjustment a good sign?
Yes. Since the intention of the chiropractic adjustment process is to release toxins and promote healing or pain relief, headaches are a good sign. They stand as a confirmation that toxins are indeed getting flushed into the bloodstream and eventually out of the body.
Do chiropractic adjustments create headaches?
Yes. As chiropractors adjust bones (usually the spine) or massage muscles, they are effectively releasing toxins into the patient’s bloodstream. These toxins are intended to be flushed out of the body in urine, sweat, or fiscal excrement. Since people are not used to these excess toxins flushing through their bodies, it causes chemical reactions. It’s these chemical reactions that cause headaches soon after the conclusion of a chiropractic adjustment or massage.
Exactly What Contributes to Headaches After a Chiropractic Adjustment?
The exact cause of headaches after chiropractic treatment can be attributed to signals coming from the brain. These signals are driven by the sudden release of toxins, which comes from adjustments of the skeletal system and massaging of muscles.
How Should I Manage a Headache After a Chiropractic Adjustment?
If you start getting a headache during or right after your chiropractor has finished administering treatment, you should let your chiropractor know about the headache. They’ll likely advise you that the headache should recede on its own very quickly. Should you want another option, they should be able to offer you a remedy or advice on how to manage the problem.
If you are at home when the headache kicks in, the usual remedies should suffice. You can start with over-the-counter pain medications. If you have prescription painkillers in the medicine cabinet, that too would be an option. If by chance you are not a fan of taking medicine, you might try an ice pack to reduce the pain.
If you experience a headache after your first chiropractic adjustment, it’s likely you’ll experience headaches after future adjustments. If you inform your chiropractor about your propensity for headaches after treatment, they might offer up some preemptive measures you could take.
Can a Chiropractic Help Treat Chronic Headaches?
Chronic headaches would be a viable reason for you to visit a chiropractor in the first place. Sometimes, chronic headaches are caused by skeletal alignment issues that are interfering with the proper flow of blood and chemicals throughout the body.
In such cases, a chiropractor would employ certain kinds of chiropractic adjustments that are designed to bring the body back into proper alignment. If successful in this endeavor, the natural flow of blood and chemicals through the body should resume. That should help relieve the occurrence of chronic headaches.
Don’t forget. You might experience a headache after your adjustments. Not to worry. It’s a very different kind of headache with a very different cause. This headache should be very temporary and not return until possibly the next appointment.
What occurs in the brain during a chiropractic adjustment?
Of course, the spine is connected directly to the brain. During a chiropractic adjustment to the spine, toxins are released. The signals for the release of these toxins are sent directly to the brain. Overwhelmed by these toxins, the brain sends out a chemical reaction that manifests as a headache. The headache will quicking recede as the overload of toxins recede. That’s why these types of headaches don’t last long.
Why do headaches occur after an adjustment?
It is right after the chiropractic adjustment has been completed that toxin levels in the body will reach their highest point. That accounts for the fact that most chiropractic care headaches will start immediately and dissipate almost as quickly as they came about.
Why Do People Generally Get Headaches?
It’s very common for normal people to encounter headaches. For sure, some people are more prone to getting headaches than others. It’s not really clear why that is, but it might have to do with the very specific causes of headaches. The following sections cover some of the most common causes of headaches in humans.
Eating cream
You might refer to ice cream headaches as “brain freeze.” The medical term for this kind of headache is cold-stimulus headaches.
Medical science is not exactly clear on what causes brain freeze. The consensus is it has something to do with the way ingested cold liquids affect the temperature-sensitive pallet nerves that lead directly to the brain.
Being Concussed
Concussions are usually caused by a blunt blow to the head or neck area. The headache pain created by a concussion usually originates from the irritation of muscle tissue located in the cervical region (neck – spine).
From Subluxations
A subluxation occurs with a minor/moderate misalignment of the spine. This effectively causes nerve interference related to the spine’s ability to communicate with the brain. This inference causes a chemical imbalance in the brain, which creates a wide range of medical symptoms, one of which would be headaches.
Vision issues
Headaches brought on by vision problems usually occur because of conditions like far-sightedness or slight strabismus. The cause of the headaches is brought on by eye strain. Eye strain occurs when someone is reading or watching something while forcing themselves to focus on a particular object for too long without taking a break to relax their eyes.
Sinus problem
Sinus headaches are created by the buildup of pressure in the sinuses. The pressure usually comes from nasal mucus that is created by cold viruses or allergies. Some sinus headaches can last for days until the mucus buildup ceases and recedes.
Change in sleep habits
One of the most important stages of sleep is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. It’s during this stage that body functions like fast breathing, leg movements, eye movement, and active dreaming occur. Studies show that the lack of REM sleep causes a buildup of proteins that can cause the lowering of the body’s threshold for experiencing pain. Consequently, the brain becomes more sensitive to pain, which often translates into migraines.
A brain tumors (RARE)
Headaches caused by brain tumors are created by one of two things: intracranial pressure (pressure inside the skull) as the tumor presses on nerves, or stretching of the dura that surrounds the spinal cord and brain. Such pain is often described as “stabbing pain.”
Questions
Is it normal to get a headache after seeing a chiropractor?
Yes, it’s quite common. What you might discover is that headaches are more common after earlier chiropractic adjustments. That’s when the toxin in your system would be at their highest levels. As you receive more chiropractic adjustments, the frequency of headaches should diminish due to the lower toxin levels in your body.
How long does toxic release last after a chiropractic adjustment?
Since headaches caused by a chiropractic adjustment are created by the release of toxins, you might be curious about how long the toxin-release process will last. From the time the treatment process begins, the release of toxins should stop after a few hours. With that said, the time it takes will vary from one person to the next.
Why does my head feel weird after a chiropractic adjustment?
Your head feels weird because of your brain’s reaction to the release of toxins into your body. These toxins get released as your chiropractor is performing spinal adjustments or massaging muscles.
It’s nothing to worry about because it’s a common occurrence associated with chiropractic care. In fact, those “weird” feelings are a good sign because they indicate the chiropractor’s work is proceeding as intended.
How long do headaches last after a chiropractic adjustment
If left untreated, the headaches could last for a few hours. If you choose some kind of medicinal remedy, there is a good chance the headache will go away within an hour of taking the medication. If the headaches were to last unreasonably long, you should contact your chiropractor. There could be collateral issues that are causing the headache to last.
Detox symptoms after a chiropractic adjustment
As toxins get released during chiropractic adjustments, your body will start detoxing. The most common symptoms associated with a toxin detox are:
- Fatigue
- Muscle tension
- Headaches
- Nausea, dizziness, and vomiting
- Dehydration
- Night sweats
- Digestive issues
- Agitation and irritability
What toxins are released after a chiropractic adjustment
The body takes in toxins every day from all kinds of sources. The most common kinds of toxins come from environmental pollutants (pesticides and flame retardants) and polychlorinated biphenyls from food, air pollutants, fumes, etc.
Headache and neck pain after a chiropractic adjustment
Based on the information provided above, you can see that headaches after chiropractic adjustments are not uncommon. It’s actually something you want to happen if you want evidence the adjustments are working.
What’s not common would be neck pain after a chiropractic adjustment. To some extent, a little pain after an adjustment is a good sign. However, significant pain that lasts longer than an hour or two could be indicative of a problem. It might be a preexisting problem or an issue that was created by the treatment process.
