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by Dr. Tim Maggs
© December 1998


Of the many maladies runners suffer with, none should get the level of 
sympathy that chronic headaches command command.  The perfect punishment for 
a worst enemy, who happens to suffer with headaches, is to make them run step
after pounding step for 5 miles a day, as their head explodes with each and
every stride.

Many runners today suffer with both constant and intermittent headaches, and 
unfortunately, many doctors seem to miss the boat with regard to accurate or
beneficial diagnoses.  Any doctor who just writes a prescription in the 
absence of proper testing should----well, should be injected with headache
juice and forced to run 5 miles per day.

Know the Cause

If any treatment is ever recommended for your headache without a full
description of the cause of the headache, feel free to exit quickly and go 
to Doctor #2.  Headaches can be caused by a host of problems, and to ignore 
the exact cause for relief only borders on lunacy.  You must know why
you have your headache before you can ever work to correct the cause.  Some
doctors out there forgot that cause matters.  And for many Americans,
they’ve never thought in terms of cause.  But, if symptomatic relief 
is the level your bar is at, you stand the distinct possibility of getting
worse with time and finding that the level of medication you take today won’t
even begin to touch your pain tomorrow.

There are several common causes of headaches.  Most people who suffer with
headaches suffer with one or more of these conditions.	You must use a 
doctor who is skilled in the following areas to hope for an accurate 
diagnosis and treatment; blood sugar, hormonal imbalances, stress and
subluxations of the joints of the cervical spine (neck).  Although 
there are more severe disease processes which can cause headaches, such as
brain tumors and aneurysms, it is most common to have the more correctable
causes listed above as the underlying criminal.

With blood sugar and hormonal imbalances as the cause, diet plays a 
significant role in improving the condition.  Although it is very difficult 
to eat a great diet these days, (a great diet consists of whole grains,
seasonal vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts), it is much easier to 
supplement your diet with nutritional supplementation specific for your 
needs.	In this situation, there are dietary tests which can be given to
determine what hormonal imbalances exist or what specific blood sugar 
problem is present.  For example, blood sugar involves the liver, adrenal
glands, pancreas and digestive organs.	Many, many people suffer with
imbalances in the blood sugar system and will never find resolution until 
they nutritionally balance their diets.  The answer is to do as well as you 
can with your diet and then be willing to supplement for specific weaknesses. 


If any testing is needed, a 5 hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) is the most
accurate test to give the specific information needed.	Most medical doctors
frown on the 5 hour GTT as the only information you’ll find after the 3rd 
hour is that your blood sugar drops significantly.  This is critical
information, but, if low blood sugar is found, the only effective treatment 
is dietary.  Most M.D.’s are not trained to think nutritionally, so their 
interest in finding low blood sugar is minimal.   A 3 hour GTT or a 2 hour
post-prandial is virtually worthless unless you have diabetes.

Now, if blood sugar or hormonal imbalances aren’t the cause, then think in
terms of your neck and the base of the skull, especially if you’ve suffered
with some prior neck trauma, like a whiplash injury.  This area of the body 
has a tremendous influence over all of the body, and any misalignment or
fixation of the joints at the top of the spine can pinch nerves that will 
cause headaches.  In fact, many migraines are a result of the atlas (the top 
bone of the spine) being in an abnormal position.  If the headache occurs 
over one or both eyes, think in terms of the 2nd bone, the axis, as being 
out of position, as there is a nerve that exits near the axis and affects 
this area.  Any mis-alignment of that bone will produce an irritation of 
that nerve.

Solutions

For the majority of headaches, I would recommend two providers, a nutrition
oriented health care provider and a chiropractor familiar with runners.  
Make sure whoever you go to gives you a specific cause and treatment 
schedule.  If it’s nutritional, get an idea of what you can expect.  If it’s
structural, make sure you can see the misalignment on the x-ray.  If it’s 
blood sugar, make sure you see the 5 hour GTT results that show a drop in 
blood sugar (below 70 at any point).  Be careful with anyone who recommends 
symptomatic treatment without verification of your condition.

And last but not least, never stop searching for the answer to life.  It is 
out there.  Have a great month.

Dr. Maggs can be contacted at (800) 987-7845, e-mailed at
RunningDr@aol.com or 
by checking out his website www.RunningDr.com.