Question
Hi Dr Gillman,
I am writing on behalf of my wife. She has been a life long sufferer of migraine headaches and has tried various routes to ease the pain and suffering. I have done some exploring and have heard that seeing a chiropractor can ease the pain, symptoms and even reduce the occurrences. I was wondering if you found this to be true and could recommend some places in Massachusetts - Boston area that might specialize in this care. We have found hundreds of locations, but not many seem to know about migraines. Please let me know. I see from your resume that you have worked in Massachusetts and was wondering if you are still in the area. We would love to come to you if you are available as well.

Answer
William,

There are some people, a "subset" of the migraine population, that seems to find temporary relief of migraine headache pain with the manual methods delivered by a chiropractor.   From my practice experience, I can tell you it is a small subset.   I can also tell you that nobody has a sure answer for migraine headaches.   Most migraineurs have no alteration to frequency or duration of headaches regardless of the treatment, and they must always rely on med's to short-circuit the migraine or lessen the pain.   Others simply haven't explored all their options and never tried some of the various natural/non-pharmacologic approaches that include high dose vitamin B2, acupuncture, chiropractic joint manipulation, soft tissue therapies such as Graston Technique, etc.     Anyone that promises to cure migraines is a charlatan - so beware of this.   You can see my website for more information: www.drgillman.com;  lastly, I don't know of anyone that specializes in treatment of migraines in the chiropractic profession;

'Hope this was helpful.