What can be done to fight migraine and headache apart from swallowing pills?

Headaches in their various forms are one of the most common complaints. All of us have suffered from headaches at one time or another, even if only occasionally.

For 15-20% of the population, 2-4% of them children, headaches are not merely an occasional symptom, but have become unwelcome companions which, despite all attempts to get rid of them, return chronically, so much so that many people start to refer to them as "my headache."

The maximum incidence of headaches is reached between the ages of 35 and 45. Women suffer from them 3 times more commonly than men. Headaches have both psychological and emotional components, identified by an alteration of the blood flow to and from the cranium. Conventional medicine attempts to control this deficit with the aid of chemical drugs. Further determining factors for headaches may include reduced liver function, excessive intoxication of the intestine and the body in general (toxemia), heavy metal poisoning as well as acidosis, i.e. an excessively low pH-value.

The psychological/emotional component associated in literature with headaches can be summarized as follows: constant anxiety or fear, difficulties in "abandoning oneself" or "letting go," fear of"losing one's head," always being "on the alert;" the tendency to think too much and attempting to control every situation. Unforeseen events and unexpected encounters are also sources of stress, as is the tendency to plan everything, to take on great responsibilities even though it negatively affects one's own peace of mind, and to be perfectionist and hypercritical.

The various classifications of headache

The difference between migraine and headache lies in the fact that migraine affects one side of the head, while ordinary headaches are generalized through the entire skull. In the medical literature, cephalalgia is subdivided as follows: Tension-type headaches or tension cephalalgia are the most common form of headache, with a high percentage rate of about 70%.

The remaining 30% are divided into:

Migraine, without aura: approximately 85% of all migraine attacks. Characterized by nausea, with or without vomiting. The attack may be violent or throbbing, or dull and constant like "a weight of many kilos on the head." The pain is exacerbated by movement, coughing, sneezing, exertion and light. The sufferer generally prefers to lie down in the dark and away from any noise. The duration can range from a few hours to three days. There are generally no warning signs, and the pain appears on one side of the skull before quickly radiating through the rest of the head.

Migraine with aura (classical): approximately 14% of migraine attacks. It differs from common migraine in that it is associated with premonitory disturbances such as hypersensitivity to light and/or sound, darkening of one side of the field of vision, scintillating lines and "floaters." The duration ranges from 4 to 24 hours.

Cluster headaches: approximately 1% of headache cases. Characterized by rapid onset and great intensity, they are extremely incapacitating. They are generally located around one eye or temple, hence the name cluster headaches. They afflict men far more commonly than women. The pain of cluster headaches can be so intense that victims want to bang their head against the wall, or even commit suicide. They normally last only a few minutes but may recur 10 times or more over the next 24 hours.

ATLANTOtec^® treatment outcomes for migraine and headaches

A study of the ATLANTOtec® Atlas adjustment method by Prof. Hans-Joachim Theis' scientific institution INKAM in Germany, which was performed in March 2010 with 504 people suffering from migraine, revealed that 82% of those afflicted reported an improvement in their complaints, while in 39% of the participants migraine had disappeared completely.

With headaches the success rate is 87%, with symptoms being totally eliminated in 21% of cases.

These results are absolutely remarkable compared to the results achieved by medical or other conventional treatments. To date no other established therapy has achieved similar results.

What makes them all the more remarkable is the fact that they were accomplished by one single treatment rather than one stretching over an indefinite period of time.


This positive result seems to have three underlying reasons:

• Improvement of the blood flow and therefore a higher oxygen supply to the brain. As soon as the Atlas is positioned correctly, the blood supply to the brain is no longer blocked, and the heart and circular flow are relieved. Due to improved blood flow the problem of constantly cold hands and feet is resolved spontaneously.
• Substantial reduction of muscular contractions in the shoulders and neck, which may have benefits particularly for tension-type headaches.
• The bottleneck that compresses and irritates the cranial nerves in the vicinity of the Atlas is eliminated.

After treatment, many people report that the unpleasant sensation of pressure in the head has disappeared, and that they feel a sense of liberation.

How misalignment of the Atlas may cause migraine

One of the transverse processes of a misaligned Atlas may exert pressure on the Arteria carotis interna (internal carotid artery), as well as the Arteria vertebralis (vertebral artery), which proceeds through the apophysis itself. The vertebral artery is responsible for the blood supply of the cerebellum (hindbrain) while the inner carotid supplies the cerebrum (forebrain).

1) vertebral artery 2) compressed vertebral artery

Depending on the pressure point, problems can be initiated both by inflow and drainage of the blood, depending on whether the artery or the vein is affected. This is how the sensation of pressure in the head, paleness of the face or a "beating in the head" can be explained.

The change in blood flow reduces oxygen supply to the brain and causes a temporary disorder of the nerve cells, a so-called neurologic deficit, which can last from hours to days. The situation can become increasingly problematic when other factors are added, thus reaching the critical point for the triggering of a migraine attack.

Stress, overwork, worries and nervousness accentuate and strengthen the headache by encouraging the contraction of the muscles at the base of the cranium.

Interestingly, the same shift of the Atlas may create a migraine in one person but not in another, owing to individual anatomical circumstances such as the size of the Atlas itself, the available space between the various anatomical elements, sensitivity to triggering factors, the degree of muscular contraction, the state of intoxication of the liver and intestine, and most importantly the emotional state described earlier.

This animation shows how a misaligned Atlas may press onto the carotid artery, the vagus nerve and the internal jugular vein.

Blue: internal jugular vein Blue: vagus nerve Red: carotid artery

Tension-type headaches and neck pain

The term "tension-type headache" denominates the most common form of headache. Victims report an often extreme stiffening of the shoulder-neck muscles, which causes pain that rises via the back of the head over the forehead. What is the cause of this permanently recurring tension of the neck?

How do tension-type headaches arise?

Without compensatory measures of the neck muscles a tilted Atlas inevitably causes the head to lean sideways (any malocclusion of the jaw may worsen the situation).

Several muscles of the neck act together in the compensatory action to keep the head perpendicular in relation to the rest of the spine. One example is the sternocleidomastoid muscle responsible for turning the head.

The continuous efforts of the neck muscles to compensate stiffen the muscles involved to such an extent that a vicious circle is triggered: the overburdened muscles become harder and start aching. At this point the muscles tighten even more, until they eventually go into a spasm. Pain becomes persistent and then spreads to the cranium.

The consequence of this stiffening of the neck muscles is compression and the resulting irritation of the nerve endings that exit the spinal column.

One of the worst affected nerves is the occipitalis major, which innervates the rear of the cranium. It extends through the semispinalis capitis muscle and is then covered by the splenio capitis muscle, which forms part of the outermost layer of muscles.

After the nerve passes between the two vertebrae, it continues under the inferior capitis oblique muscle, extends through the semispinalis capitis muscle and is then covered by the splenius capitis muscle, which is part of the outer layer of musculature.

In the case of a specific misalignment of the Atlas, it is precisely these muscles that are overburdened the most and tend to compress and irritate the occipitalis major nerve in the back of the head. The nerve thus transmits pain signals to the brain, which radiate from the neck to the rear part of the head and are perceived as a tension-type headache.

Lying down and relaxing improves the symptoms slightly, but as soon as the head is lifted the pain
returns. This is a chronic muscle-based tension-type headache.

Conventional medicine solutions for muscle-based tension-type headaches

Although conventional medicine does recognize the problem of rigid muscles as a trigger of tension-type headaches, it offers no solution except pharmaceutical muscle relaxants, analgesics or injections, which all provide temporary relief, but certainly do not represent a lasting solution, and may even harm the body in the long run!

Lately official medicine has tried to present injections of substances like Botulinum toxin (Botox) for a reduction of tension headache as common and acceptable! Botox is one of the strongest known poisons; it is not hard to imagine what effects such a "treatment" might have on the organism in the long run.

Turning to physiotherapists and other manual therapists does little to solve the problem, as these professionals are able to identify muscle tension yet are unable to solve the problem satisfactorily, as they cannot deal effectively with the underlying problem, as they cannot address the primary cause, which is the misalignment of the Atlas.

Millions of patients go from one doctor or therapist to the next but do not find conclusive help. Tension-type headaches or migraine return relentlessly. Almost everybody either knows someone personally affected or are affected themselves.

If conventional medicine had an effective solution for curing headaches, surely there would not be millions of sufferers of chronic headaches or migraines, right?

Some factors that may trigger a migraine attack

1. hormonal variations, stress
2. lack of sleep
3. sickness
4. abnormal dental occlusion (malocclusion)
5. subluxation of any vertebrae
6. rapid change in the weather
7. stale air or air-conditioned environments
8. food allergies/intolerances
9. alcoholic beverages, chocolate, cheese, aspartam, glutamate (E621)

When these or other factors accumulate and rise above a certain threshold, a migraine attack is triggered. The various triggering factors are not constant, and indeed may change in order of importance during the course of a person's life. An example of this are the hormonal changes caused by menopause or pregnancy, which in some cases stop or reduce the occurrence of migraine attacks.

The factors listed above are generally of lesser importance than the misalignment of the Atlas. As soon as the position of the first vertebra is adjusted – as experience has shown – the other factors are often no longer sufficient to trigger a migraine attack.

The problem with the Atlas is of a purely mechanical nature. This is why migraines or headaches may disappear directly after treatment, while in other cases the body needs a phase of regeneration which may require some patience.

Long-term sufferers who see their headaches disappear from one day to the next, are often incredulous and stunned, as if they had become attached to their condition, so that a feeling of emptiness ensues. They cannot understand how their unwelcome but loyal "companion" could have abandoned them.

It is always rewarding for an Atlastechnician to hear from his patients how they were rid of their migraine or other painful conditions from which they had suffered for years.

Now you can finally escape from the nightmare of your headaches!