Chiropractic Patients Association
Headaches - The patient’s story
My name is Teresa Oxley, I am a 43-year-old midwife based in Sheffield, I currently have an MSc in midwifery and I am involved in the auditing of our in-house clinical services. Migraine became a part of my life at the age of seventeen and has continued in varying patterns for twenty-seven years. The attacks have been as infrequent as three or four a year and as many as three or four a week. I have over the years ploughed the literature and tried various methods and treatments which have included:
• Change in diet
• Exploration of diet for triggers
• Rest and sleep pattern changes
• Preventative drug therapy
• Specific migraine drug treatments
• Beta-blockers
• A tooth shield to aid free movement of my jaw at night
In 1998 the episodes were increasing and were becoming relatively constant. In sheer desperation, while waiting for an appointment with a migraine specialist, I went to get advice and treatment at a chiropractic clinic. At this point I met my chiropractor, Dr George Carruthers, for the first time. During the initial consultation he took a full history and carried out a thorough examination. When he began the treatment he initially concentrated on my neck and after only a few minutes there was an immediate effect. My head felt lighter, and I had more movement of my neck and head. This encouraged me to continue with the treatment even though I had previously felt very sceptical. However as the treatment progressed I managed to get longer periods of relief from both the tightness in my neck and from the headaches themselves. This improvement was further enhanced when my chiropractor began treatment of my jaw. This was and is quite a painful process but does give immediate relief. My current situation is that of seeing my Chiropractor every eight weeks which maintains the status quo and I now only suffer very occasional migraines, which are less intense and last for shorter periods. The headaches I do get are usually as a direct result of dehydration, which is the only trigger I have identified over the years. I now have no hesitation in referring others to a chiropractor as I can honestly say I have been greatly helped where other treatments have failed.
The Chiropractors Story
Teresa first attended my Sheffield clinic in 1998. She complained of headaches over the back, side and front of the head. She also stated that she felt pain over and behind the eyes, usually worse on the left, with palsy of the left side of her face and occasional visual disturbances also on the left side. She suggested that she did have an aura before the migraine came on and felt nauseous with vomiting on quite a few occasions. Teresa went on to describe that during an attack her left side and left arm tingled. She described the head pain as a severe “banging/throbbing pain, 8/10 on a scale of 0-10 where 0 is “no pain and 10 “ is maximum pain” . This left her unable to function and her symptoms were exacerbated by stress, monthly cycle and clenching her teeth. She did find that a mouth splint and migraine drugs helped a bit. However, time was being lost at work and her social activities were seriously curtailed. I was aware that she had been seen by a well-respected Neurologist in the area who prescribed beta-blockers, and that she was awaiting an appointment at the Sheffield Migraine Clinic, based in the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
I examined Teresa, with her varied neurological symptoms in mind and appreciated that she was, at that time, suffering from a headache. Teresa stood with her shoulders severely hunched and her head held jutting forward, her eyes were not fully open and she looked ill. Her blood pressure and pulse were normal, tests to attempt to eliminate any blood flow problems to her brain were carried out and her peripheral and central nervous system were checked using normal neurological testing. Her vision and eyes were examined, showing slight weakness of one of the left eye muscles when following a pencil. Examination of her temperomandibular joint (jaw) showed a deviation to the left on closing and a slight cross bite. Palpation of her cervical spine (neck) showed that some of the supporting muscles, both at the front and at the back of the neck as well as upper back between the shoulder blades, were in spasm. She had palpable tenderness at the base of her skull, over the side of the head, above the ear and into the jaw, much worse on the left than the right. Reduced neck movement was noted in all ranges of motion, worse on the left. Standard orthopaedic tests were carried out which confirmed that at least part of her problem lay within her cervical spine and jaw. I made a diagnosis of opthalmoplegic headache with cervicogenic and temperomandibular joint involvement.
Teresa was treated with standard chiropractic diversified and SOT cranial techniques. She suggested that she noticed improvement immediately but it took two months to stabilise her condition. I have treated Teresa regularly on a supportive care basis, over a period of three years and her headaches seem under control. We continually review her treatment biannually, to ensure that she is being offered the treatment regime suited to her and her condition.
Dr George Carruthers is in Private practice in Sheffield and Chesterfield with interests in headaches and whiplash associated disorders and is currently completing research on chiropractic treatment and its success in treating whiplash injury. He holds a clinical specialist fellowship of the College of Chiropractors in Orthopaedics, and is a member both of the Pain Society and the Society of Rheumatology. He is a graduate of the AECC
