Headaches occurring at intervals on the right or left side of the head, are associated with nausea And vomiting. There may be a feeling of seeing non-existent objects in front of the eyes before the onset of the headache. Such headaches usually start before the age of 30. Many such patients respond to manipulation. In some cases migraine may occur at the back of the head. In such cases manipulation will relieve the headache to a considerable degree.
Migraine of Cervical Origin. Spondylosis and osteo-arthritic changes in the cervical spine can cause an inflammatory reaction. This causes a spasm in the vertebral artery and its branches, resulting in a headache with the following characteristics:
It is mostly localised in the forehead and may be associated with nausea and severe vomiting.The headache always occurs on the same side. Manipulation elicits a good response.
Sometimes the headache is localised at the back of the eyeball and the initial symptoms pertain to visual abnormalities.
Case Histories
A girl, eleven years old, had a severe headache for five days. She underwent laboratory tests of blood, urine, and stool. X-rays were also taken. Every finding was normal and the cause could not be detected. In spite of all possible medication she did not show any improvement. She was thought to be a case fit for a psychiatrist. But her father brought the child to me and narrated the following history: she complained of upper back pain when she went to school with a heavy bag strapped across her shoulders.
This pain continued till late evening. She became irritable and would not listen to her parents. The history of irritability and failure of drugs proved that her ailment was not physical but mental. She was treated manipulatively three times and her headache completely disappeared. She was taught to walk straight instead of going about with a forward stoop. She showed complete recovery.
A 29-year-old lady with three children had been getting headaches off and on since her college days. She also suffered from severe pain in the neck and both shoulders. The headache would occur twice or thrice a month during the day, lasting each time for 10-20 minutes. It would become less during the menstruation cycles. After she got married, the headaches went on increasing in frequency and intensity, and for two years she got headaches every day and had to resort to pain killers.
The headaches were accompanied by tension in the neck and were more intense at the back of the head and in the frontal area, in her eyeballs and behind them. Her condition was diagnosed as migraine. She was given manipulative treatment for her cervical spine and upper dorsal spine. Gradually the headaches started getting less frequent and less intense. She rarely used a pain killer. In 10 weeks the headaches completely subsided.
A 36-year-old engineer employed in the Railways had been suffering from headaches since his school days. They used to occur at fortnightly intervals and later, almost every week. The pain was very severe, starting from the back of the head and then spreading all over the head. He also felt pain in the upper back. His veins became prominent in the temples during the attack, and throbbed. He suffered from nausea and vomiting and would last for twenty-four hours, sometimes even for two to three days.
Occasionally, when there was no severe headache, there would be a feeling of general uneasiness. He would prefer to remain in the dark and not be disturbed. He also preferred to lie down till recovery. He was given glasses as his sight was found to be weak, but this did not help. He consulted many doctors and took treatment, but to no avail . He came to me with his complaint. I examined him thoroughly and found him to have a round upper back. X-rays of the cervical and dorsal spine were taken, but they did not reveal any abnormality; other pathological tests too were all normal.Manipulative treatment was started. He felt no improvement after the first session.
He was called again after a week and manipulative treatment of the cervical and dorsal spine was repeated. He felt some improvement. After a few weeks, his headache became less severe and less frequent. In three months he felt completely recovered, but he continued to come once a month for three months. He has since been advised to come twice a year for maintenance treatment. He has had no attacks ever since.
A young girl aged 21 years suffered from headaches for eight years. At first, she used to have a headache once a month became or once a fortnight. During the last three years, the headaches became more frequent and she started having headaches almost every day. The ache was in entire head, though more severe in the forehead. She did not get nausea or vomiting. Due to the severity of the headaches, she had to discontinue her studies. She was examined by a few doctors but nothing seemed to help her.She was then referred to me for manipulative treatment. After being treated for three weeks, she felt much better. By the end of six weeks, she was completely cured and the headaches never returned. She has resumed her studies happily.