Chiropractic and recurrent headaches in children

It’s not just parents that can get headaches from all the different stresses in life, especially dealing with children and all their needs, but children can also be suffering from recurrent headaches as well. Has your child ever complained to you about headaches? This is an important article that could make the world of difference to you.
 
“Recurrent headache is common with annual prevalence rates ranging from approximately 5% among 3 year-olds to more than half of the population around puberty” (1).

Recurrent headaches in children can affect their overall quality of life and are known to interfere with school performance, social interactions with family and friends, and sports (2,3) Higher levels of stress and depression are reported among children who experience recurrent headaches. (3) There are many causes of headaches which may include psychological factors, nutrition, socioeconomic factors and many more. (4-9) Some that we would all be quite familiar with would be the many physical stresses that children go through, ranging from the not so pleasant traumas to the neck and head with all the activities that kids engage with, to static postural stress from school and the current trends with technology. Suffering from recurrent headaches in childhood can be a precursor to potentially severe headache syndromes later in life (10), so it’s important to address the issues early on.
 
In a recent literature research article some interesting results were found where they were looking at children between the age of 7 to 14. At a chiropractic clinic these children were suffering from at least 1 headache a week for the previous 6 months. It was found that the children who received chiropractic spinal adjustments resulted in significantly fewer days with headaches and better global perceived effects. Though it was a smaller study looking at 199 children, and more research needs to be done, it seems that chiropractic may have a positive outcome for children who are experiencing recurrent headaches. (11)
 
So if you want to find out if chiropractic can assist your child with recurrent headaches, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“Any disturbances to our everyday function such as headaches affect our overall expression of life!”
 


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References
1. Singhi S, Jacobs H, Gladstein J. Pediatric headache: where have we been and where do we need to be. Headache. 2014;54(5):817–29.
2 .Powers SW, Patton SR, Hommel KA, Hershey AD. Quality of life in childhood migraines: clinical impact and comparison to other chronic illnesses. Pediatrics. 2003;112(1 Pt 1):e1–5.
3. Termine C, Ozge A, Antonaci F, Natriashvili S, Guidetti V, Wober-Bingol C. Overview of diagnosis and management of paediatric headache. Part II: therapeutic management. J Headache Pain. 2011;12(1):25–34.
4. Lateef TM, Merikangas KR, He J, Kalaydjian A, Khoromi S, Knight E, Nelson KB. Headache in a national sample of American children: prevalence and comorbidity. J Child Neurol. 2009;24(5):536–43.
5.Kroner-Herwig B, Heinrich M, Morris L. Headache in German children and adolescents: a population-based epidemiological study. Cephalalgia. 2007; 27(6):519–27.
6.Nelson S, Coakley R. The pivotal role of pediatric psychology in chronic pain: opportunities for informing and promoting new research and intervention in a shifting healthcare landscape. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2018;22(11):76.
7.Hetlevik O, Bjorna CH, Lundring IT, Gjesdal S. Adolescents consulting general practitioners for psychological problems-a nationwide, register- based study in Norway. Fam Pract. 2019;36(1):77–83. 8.Erlichman J, Hall A, Dean A, Godwin B, Mascarenhas M. Integrative nutrition for pediatrics. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2016;46(6):165–71.
9.Anttila P, Metsahonkala L, Aromaa M, Sourander A, Salminen J, Helenius H, Alanen P, Sillanpaa M. Determinants of tension-type headache in children. Cephalalgia. 2002;22(5):401–8.
10. Connelly M. Recurrent pediatric headache: a comprehensive review. Child Health Care. 2003;32(3):153–89.
11. Lynge, S., Dissing, K.B., Vach, W., Christensen, H.W. and Hestbaek, L., 2021. Effectiveness of chiropractic manipulation versus sham manipulation for recurrent headaches in children aged 7–14 years-a randomised clinical trial. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 29(1), pp.1-13.