Helping relieve tension headaches through chiropractic and nutrition

Over the years I’ve worked with many people who suffer from chronic headaches.  Being a chiropractor, in practice since 1998 in Midtown Manhattan, I always begin the process  by doing a through exam of their spinal alignment.  Many people suffer from headaches due to bad posture through out the day.  It begins at work, possibly a work station that forces them to look at a computer all day from an angle that doesn’t allow a neutral gaze.  The chair might be too high, to allow a person to watch their moniter without straining the cervical muscles and subluxates, pulls out of positions, the vertebrae in there spine.  Doing this for hours at a time sets up muscles that contract, and can’t relax, as well as bones that are forced out of normal positioning.  As a person comes home, many times they crash on the couch watching television, another way to further the imbalance created at work.  Finally, retiring to bed only to sleep with huge pillows on their stomachs.  All this over even a few days will create a pattern in the  upper neck where muscles will begin to compensate for the abnormal tension and shorten, straightening the cervical curve and cause headaches.
Another correlation I’ve found for headaches, even of the migraine type, is a lack of proper probiotic, good bacteria,  in the gut.  If a person is eating a diet high in sugar and processed grains and meats, the good bacteria will lessen.  This can cause an over acidification of the body, leading to severe headaches.  A good probiotic, bought from your local health food store, or any fermented food such as sauerkraut will balance the good bacteria out  in your body, and allow the processed foods to be digested with greater ease.  Cutting back on Sugar, wheat, and animal products and replacing with green leafy vegetables will help as well.
Finally, it’s important to change the bad positioning that causes the headaches in the first place.  Through chiropractic adjustments,  stretching of the cervicals, and stregthening exercises,  proper function to the body can be restored.  Changing the dynamics of your work station, so that you’re able to work for long periods of time without looking down when reading or working on the computer is of vital importance.  Watching TV in an upright relaxed position when home, and sleeping on your back  with thinner pillows should also help tremendously in restoring health to the neck.  For those who have snoring issues, sleeping on the side comes in as the next favorable postition.
Have any questions, or if you’d like to schedule an appointment, Contact: Dr. Dani Stekel, (212)581-3331, or email me at DrStekel@gmail.com.  Address is 250 West 57st., NY NY 10107, Suite 930