A Note From Dr. Nic

This week our office has seen several new people with a primary complaint of chronic headaches. I am always surprised at how many of us “just learn to live” with a chronic and recurring “normal headache”—there is no such thing as “Normal Headache”! If you’re some who feels a constant dull ache in the back of your head, or behind your eyes, read on! There are ways to address these energy draining symptoms without the use of drugs—whether they’re over the counter or prescription.

When your head feels like it’s being squeezed in a vise, with pain radiating from the neck, the back of your head or your eyes, you may have what is referred to as a tension-type headache. Tension headaches are the most common type of headache, accounting for approximately 90% of all occurrences. It is estimated that between 30% and 80% of the US adult population suffers from the occasional to frequent tension headache. 

Unlike migraines, tension headaches do not run in families. There is no single cause of tension headaches. Most are due to emotional or physical stress of some kind.

Anxiety, fatigue, hunger and poor posture can also significantly contribute to the likelihood of a tension headache caused by tight muscles in the neck and scalp. Another possible source of some tension headaches may be the frequent or constant clenching of the teeth, which can cause chronic contraction of the muscles in the temples (which is why massaging this area sometimes brings some relief).

Those who suffer from chronic tension headaches tend to be people who suffer from poorly managed stress on a daily basis. Women are the most common sufferers of these chronic headaches, which can vary in intensity throughout the day, but which always produce some level of pain. Chronic tension headaches are classified as those lasting for 15 days or more. Most commonly, chronic tension headaches last for 60 to 90 days.

Analgesics such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen and aspirin are often used to treat the occasional tension headache. However, taking these on a long-term basis can cause what are referred to as medication overuse headaches (or rebound headaches), which are the third most common form of headache.

Stress reduction techniques can help prevent tension headaches. Making lifestyle changes such as getting more sleep, eating healthy food and getting regular exercise can help too. That said, it’s important to understand that this type of headache is often the result of specific situations in our lives and the way our bodies react to them. This means that the way we deal with these root-cause situations (potentially including avoiding them in the first place or managing them in a different way) is often the key to making them less frequent or less severe.

Finally, consider chiropractic for your headaches. Restoring motion to the neck's seven vertebrae, along with reduction in muscle tension can work wonders on headaches. Sick and tired of being sick and tired? Call our office today!

Botany Peaks

Having gone skiing in Winter Park Colorado for over two decades, I have spent dozens of days looking up at Perry Peak which dominates the Eastern Horizon of the Winter Park Ski Area. I am confident that ninety-nine percent of the time that I looked up at the peak I said to myself, “I'm going to stand on top of that thing someday.” Well, in August I finally did!

Parry Peak is in the Continental Divide near Winter Park Colorado. It is named after Charles Parry, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, but moved to the United States with his parents in 1832. He studied medicine at Columbia University, and botany under John Torrey, Asa Gray and George Engelmann. If you are familiar with Colorado mountains, you may recognize those names.  

In order to get to the top of Parry Peak, I started at the Berthoud Pass Trailhead of the Continental Divide Trail. It's about six and a half miles from there to the summit. Along the way I stopped at the tops of Colorado Mines Peak, Mount Flora, and Mount Eva.  

It was an incredible Adventure, 20 years in the making. And I learned a lot about the history of this region, which are called the Botany Peaks. Charles Parry, as I mentioned, was a botanist and he named Grays Peak, Torrey’s Peak, Engleman Peak, and James Peak after fellow botanists. The other Peaks I mentioned, Mount Eva, is named after his wife and Mount Flora is simply named for his favorite subject, botany.

While out there I also climbed James peak and visited Heart Lake in the “James Peak Wilderness”.  

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There's A Bear Up Ahead On The Trail

"Hey--Heads up. There's a bear up ahead on the trail. Just past Sugarcube, near Wetmore Pond. And she has cubs with her."

That's what I was told at the Sugarloaf Aid Station, which is at Mile 47 of the 51-Mile "Marquette Trail 50". This is one of my favorite events, and I had completed the 50-kilometer distance up in Marquette 4 times in the past. But this year I set out to the to whole 50 miles...well, 51 miles. 40 of the 50 mile course is on the "Four Peaks Loop" near Marquette, which takes you over a set of granite outcroppings that are simply incredible to see both from a distance and up close. In the 50k, you do them each once, but the 50 milers do them each twice. In between the big mountain climbs and descents is incredible trail running along Lake Superior and also along the North Country Trail. It is truly a beautiful course. In fact, I highly suggest you go to YouTube and search "NTN Marquette Trail 50" to see some absolutely incredible footage from the event.

But back to the bear. I had 47 miles under me, had been on my feet for 9 hours and 30 minutes by this point, and I knew I still had 4 miles to go...and they weren't easy miles. They involved a climb over "Sugarcube" mountian then a steady, and sometimes steep, climb back to the the finish line. This wasn't going to be fun. And now I am told that some of the faster runners had spotted a bear with cubs on the trail. Yikes. Suddenly, as I made my way to the Wetmore Pond area, where the bear had been on the trail, literally every relatively large dark object was a bear. Thankfully they were only boulders, or turned over tree stumps, or standing tree stumps, or shadows. And I also was startled big time by a red squirrel scampering to a nearby tree. Alas, no bear was spotted by me. I wouldn't have minded seeing her from afar, but I also don't mind not seeing her at all.

My friend Jason (great friend with terrible ideas) came up with me and was a perfect 'Crew Chief', navigating the course via the local roads, and finding me in different spots along the run with Coke, Gatorade, and ice-cold bandanas. The humidity was at 100% all morning, and those bandanas were a life saver. Another friend, Chris, joined me for about 16 of the miles and kept me running when I should be running, kept me in 'race mode' when I wanted to just throw in the towel. We also shared some laughs and got a couple photos on top of the peaks. The photo in this article is from when I had FINALLY reached the last of my "8 peaks", and then I simply had that eventful 4 miles to go to the finish.

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