Specially trained doctors across the country for years have been using a gentle procedure for reducing neck pain and other symptoms of headaches. Additionally, recent research has shown that this procedure also significantly improves blood pressure in some individuals with hypertension.
Many cases of migraines have long been known to have an intimate relationship with brainstem function leading to abnormal tension of blood vessels. Muscular tension of the head and neck often aggravates the wide variety of migraine symptoms.
George Bakris, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Hypertensive Disease Union at the University Of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine collaborated with Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Sr., DC of the Chiropractic Health Center, in Chicago who performed all the procedures in the study as per NUCCA spinal correction protocols. The NUCCA procedure calls for gentle and controlled correction of the C-1 vertebra which is located at the base of the skull. This vertebra surrounds the brainstem below the base of the brain.
The NUCCA procedure is performed by less than 1% of chiropractic physicians who have elected to receive this training outside of standard manipulative training and reduces elevated blood pressure, a placebo-controlled study suggests.
"This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination,”
Dr. Bakris noted that previous researchers have suggested that injury to the atlas vertebra can affect blood flow in the arteries located at the base of the skull. Dr. Dickholtz is of the opinion that a misaligned Atlas triggers release of signals that make the arteries contract. Whether the procedure actually fixes or just alleviates such injuries is unknown and likely varies from individual to individual, Bakris says.
Dr. Dickholtz also said to WebMD, that "At the base of the brain are two centers that control all the muscles of the body. If you pinch the base of the brain -- if the Atlas gets locked in a position as little as a half a millimeter out of line -- it doesn't cause any pain but it upsets these centers."
The vasodilatation of migraine occurs primarily in blood vessels outside the skull in the skin. One of the reasons why arteries may abnormally dilate can be traced back to the stimulation of smooth muscle in their walls. When arteries are over-stimulated by the nerves from the brainstem that control these muscles, they can abnormally dilate.
The exact cause of migraine headaches has not been determined by medical science. However recent research is pointing towards a possible trauma induced origin of migraines. Evidence supports that trauma, particularly injury in the head, neck or upper torso region, increases the probability of migraine onset. Migraine symptoms often take months or years to develop following the trauma. Many patients recalled specific incidences of trauma (auto accidents, falls, concussions, whiplashes) that could have caused their upper cervical injuries while some did not. Sometimes it is seen that traumas have occurred nearly ten years prior to the onset of migraine symptoms.
