Pediatric headache and its relation to youth sport, explained.

Pediatric headache is an increasingly reported phenomenon and there is evidence of impaired function of the upper cervical spine in children with cervicogenic headaches. [1] The National Headache Foundation estimates that over sixty percent of all children suffer from occasional headaches. The majority of school-age children get headaches, and many have headaches on a recurrent basis. Even before entering school, roughly one-third of children experience a headache at some point. Children miss more than one million days of school each year because of headaches. Children with frequent headaches may suffer more in some respects than children with more physically devastating conditions like cancer and arthritis.  Children with headaches were adversely affected in all areas of functioning, including school performance, emotional development, and physical health. [2]

Traumatic head and neck injuries can cause chronic headache.

Car accidents, sports injuries, and even injuries caused at birth can be the source of a C1 or C2 misalignment. Upper cervical chiropractic can fix this misalignment and provide quick relief for injury related headaches. Even if the injury isn’t the cause of the chronic headache, upper cervical chiropractic can help your central nervous system to operate at a better capacity, so that your body can work to heal itself to the best of its ability. Upper cervical chiropractic may even be a permanent solution to your migraine problem.

Research with upright MRIs has shown that when a misalignment occurs in the upper neck. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow is changed, which can result in migraine headaches. Correcting this upper neck misalignments has been shown to change the flow of fluid to, from and through the brain, resulting in improved brain health and reduced or eliminated migraine symptoms.

One negative impact on young athletes, traumatic and overuse injury.

Although there is an inherent risk of injury for playing sports for all ages, it is especially vulnerable to a variety of traumatic and overuse injuries during the periods of increased growth velocity and closure of the growth plates in adolescence and young athletes. With increased youth participating in sports, there has been 2.6 million emergency room visits each year for those aged 5-24 years. Due to the rapid growth of bones and muscles, tension develops across the growth plate in the joint. Depending on the stage of physical growth, young athletes often injure anatomic structures that are different from those injured in adults. Also, a hasty return to sport with incomplete rehabilitation can result in chronic pain and dysfunction over time. [3]

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Dr. Young Chung of NUCCA Wellness Clinic of Chicago, with a location in Chicago and a 2^nd location in Wheeling is an Upper Cervical Specialist trained by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). His upper cervical clinic also serves Northbrook, Long Grove, Lincolnshire, Buffalo Grove, and Vernon Hills. He is uniquely trained to correct problems in the upper cervical spine (upper neck). This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different health problems, including migraines and other headaches, whiplash injuries, post-concussion syndrome. This type of care has also shown benefits for athletic performance and pregnancy outcomes. More information can be found on our website at https://www.nuccawcc.com/

Reference

[1] Powers, S. Patton, S, Hommel, K. “Quality of Life in Childhood Migraines: Clinical Impact and Comparison to Other Chronic Illnesses.” Vol 112 July 2003 p.1-5

[2] Budelmann, K. Difference in head posture and cervical spine movement in children with and without pediatric headache? 2013 Oct;172(10):1349-56.

[3] Merkel, Donna. “Youth Sport: Positive and Negative Impact on Young Athletes.” Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 2013, p. 151., doi:10.2147/oajsm.s33556.