Everyone at some time in their life has suffered from the throbbing, aching, and annoying pain of a headache. Headaches can be mild, or they can be severe and even debilitating. While most people experience a headache occasionally, others deal with recurrent head pain, sometimes experiencing headaches weekly, or even up to 15 or more times each month, as in the case of chronic headaches. Headaches can interfere with daily activities, even the ability to work, negatively impacting one’s quality of life. If you are a chiropractor, a physical therapist, or an acupuncturist, you know that headaches are a very common patient complaint.
Types of Headaches
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Headache disorders, which are characterised by recurrent headache, are associated with personal and societal burdens of pain, disability, damaged quality of life, and financial cost.” There are four types of headaches: migraine headaches; tension-type headaches; cluster headaches; and medication-overuse headaches. The most common of these four are migraines and tension headaches (also known as stress headaches), while cluster headaches are the rarest.
Try Laser Therapy
Pain medications only provide temporary relief. For a longer-lasting solution, try administering laser therapy for both headache pain and prevention. Laser therapy is non-invasive and has proven to be highly effective for alleviating all types of pain. In addition to providing quick pain relief, lasers can also help relieve the root cause of headaches, be it upper back or neck injuries, whiplash, TMJ, sinus conditions, or other issues, which may lead to permanent relief. Laser therapy, “is effective for disorders requiring tissue regeneration, pain relief and reduction of inflammation, treating nociceptive, neuropathic and musculoskeletal pain.”
Lasers for Chronic Migraines
A 2021 study of chronic migraine patients found that laser treatment reduced headache days and medication intake, and sleep quality also improved. “In the Laser group, the number of headache days sharply decreased, showing a long-lasting effect of laser therapy in migraines. These patients initially had a mean of 20 headache days/month decreasing to four, and then to two headache days/month.
This study determined that “Laser is a very promising therapy for pain disorders and a potential candidate for an effective migraine prevention method.” (Siega et. al., 2021)
Lasers for Tension Headaches
A study conducted in 2005 explored the effects of laser acupuncture (using lasers instead of needles on acupuncture points) on 50 patients suffering from tension headaches. This study suggested that “laser acupuncture may be an effective treatment for chronic tension-type headache.” (Ebneshahidi et. al., 2005)
People with recurrent headaches don’t have to continue to suffer when a laser can help relieve pain more effectively and without the high cost and risky side effects of pharmaceuticals.
