Rare type of Headache can be Treated Without Medicine, New Study Finds

Many office workers are suffering from chronic headache and they are sometimes hard to treat.

January 5, 2019 /MarketersMedia/ —

Many office workers are suffering from chronic headache and they are sometimes hard to treat. The headache patients may cut down on medication or stop using it completely by receiving chiropractic treatment which changes the interference of nervous system, according to results of a recent case study.

Neck–tongue syndrome (NTS) is a rarely reported headache characterized pain in the upper neck and altered sensation in the ipsilateral half of the tongue. The symptoms are sometimes brought about by sudden neck movement. The most likely cause of this clinical entity is a subluxation of the lateral atlantoaxial joint with impaction of the second cervical nerve during head rotation. By seeing a chiropractor with proper diagnosis and treatment, NTS can either cut down on medication consumption or recover without surgery. This is shown by a case report which has been published in the leading medical journal, BMJ Case Reports. 

The case study was reported when a man sought chiropractic treatment for episodes of one-sided pain, and tingling of the same sided face and half tongue for 3 months. He first experienced dry cough and dysarthria but resolved spontaneously within two weeks. The pains were brought out by an abrupt head-turning to the right and chewing. Symptoms usually lasted for minutes. His clinical features fulfilled the definition by the International Headache Society, for a diagnosis of neck tongue syndrome. He was reviewed by a neurologist and received oral gabapentin and diclofenac for one months. Later, he came to chiropractic clinic and received further care.

"People who rely on their mobile phone daily, are commonly suffering from the headache and numbness. Some patients depend on pain killer just for partial relief and can never stop the symptoms." described by Dr. Andy Fu-Chieh Lin, author of the report.

Dr. Lin explains that typical headache occurs as part of a chain reaction during which the veins in the brain contract and the blood cannot therefore supply the brain with sufficient oxygen, and created a referred pain from the musculoskeletal structures of the upper neck. However, the pain of NTS is usually rooted in the C2 spinal nerve, and described as a deep or dull pain that usually radiates from the occipital to parietal, temporal, frontal and periorbital regions.

"When reviewing the atypical headache, we first use different neurological examinations, which are the standard tests for the integrity of nervous system. The MRI and X-rays help us to identify the subluxation that interferes with the nervous system and impacts health" says Dr. Eric Chun Pu Chu, Fellow of BMJ Case Reports.

" After 12 weeks of chiropractic care, one of the results was that the effect of the pain relief increased significantly with movement of his neck. The case shows some very significant physiological effects in the body with a multidisciplinary approach in spinal care." said by Dr. Chu, as part of his humanitarian work in rare diseases.

Humanitarian Action in rare diseases

There are over 7,000 rare or orphan diseases for which there currently exists no effective or satisfactory treatments. Those who are elderly, poor, addicted, vulnerable, tortured, and homeless, have higher rates of orphan disease. Doctors should be paying great attention to those people who live on the margins of our world, but too often, they neglect them. The poor have great difficulty than the rich in accessing specialists in managing the rare disorders.

“Since rare cases are limited to the exact mechanism of chiropractic adjustment, in the amelioration of NTS has not yet been established. Together with healthcare community and chiropractors from the Chiropractic Doctors Association of Hong Kong, we are able to collect a larger scale of clinical data and explore the mechanism in improving patients’ quality of lives.” said by Dr. Chu.

Contact Info:
Name: chairman
Organization: Chiropractic Doctors Association of Hong Kong
Phone: (+852) 35947844
Website: http://www.cda.org.hk/

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