Migraines and your neck
It might sound a little strange at first, but two decades of research has identified that cause of chronic headache, migraine, and related disorders can be linked back to the overloading of the nerves in your neck.
But my neck doesn't hurt
Your neck contains your Trigemino-Cervical Complex (or TCC), which is the part of the brainstem that receives input from the nerves in your neck, and the all important Trigeminal nerve, which is the main nerve serving your head and face.
Like the rest of our bodies, everything has a threshold below which we're comfortable, and above which we're irritated.
In sufferers with chronic headache and migraine conditions, this complex not only has a lower threshold for comfort, it lacks the ability to reset itself during rest, therefore making your Trigeminal nerve hypersensitive, which can result in the various, non-neck related, symptoms experienced during a migraine.
An overflowing coffee cup
It is like having a coffee cup that starts the day ¾ full, when it should be empty. When the pressures of the day accumulate (be it hormonal fluctuations, lack of sleep, skipping meals, certain foods, bright light or a hot car) the TCC has very little capacity to ‘absorb’ more stress, and it becomes irritated. You find yourself shuttered in a dark room hoping your symptoms magically go away.
Various Triggers
This is why seemingly unrelated triggers all end up causing the same thing - headache or migraine. Your symptoms are simply a consequence of this underlying condition, so focusing on triggers or masking the pain is not treating the cause. You symptoms will come back and you'll require more treatment, continuing the cycle.
Treating the Source of the Problem
Research shows our treatment doesn’t target the symptoms, but focuses on the source. We help retrain the TCC to calm down during rest, relieving the brainstem of the irritation that built up from previous stimuli - emptying the coffee cup so to speak. Once this root cause is treated, you start your days well below the comfort threshold of your TCC, ready to take on what the world brings you.