Anew Approach to Headaches and Migraines: Lasting Relief Through Functional Neurology
Headaches and migraines affect millions of people — and for many, they’re more than just occasional discomfort. They interfere with work, sleep, family time, and overall quality of life.
Most conventional treatments focus on managing symptoms with medication. While medication can provide temporary relief, it often doesn’t address why headaches keep coming back.
At Anew Functional Neurology, we take a different approach. Instead of masking pain, we focus on restoring balance within the brain and nervous system — helping reduce the frequency, intensity, and triggers of chronic headaches and migraines.
Why Do Headaches and Migraines Keep Returning?
Your brain constantly processes information from three major systems:
Visual system (eyes)
Vestibular system (inner ear/balance)
Proprioceptive system (muscles and joints)
When these systems are not working in harmony, the brain becomes overstimulated and stressed. Over time, this can increase pain sensitivity and trigger headaches or migraines.
Let’s break this down.
The Three Systems That Influence Headaches
The Visual System
Many migraine sufferers experience:
Light sensitivity (photophobia)
Visual aura
Motion sensitivity
Eye strain
When the brain becomes hypersensitive to visual input, even normal light or screen exposure can trigger symptoms. Functional neurology helps retrain how the brain processes visual information, reducing overstimulation and improving tolerance.
2. The Vestibular System (Balance System)
Located in the inner ear, the vestibular system controls balance, spatial awareness, and head positioning.
Vestibular dysfunction is commonly linked to:
Dizziness
Vertigo
Neck tightness
Migraine-associated balance issues
When this system isn’t regulating properly, it can overstimulate the neck and upper back muscles — contributing to tension headaches and migraines.
3. The Proprioceptive System
This system gives your brain feedback about body position and posture.
Poor posture, chronic neck strain, and muscle imbalance can:
Increase tension in the upper spine
Irritate pain-sensitive structures
Contribute to tension-type or cervicogenic headaches
Improving proprioception helps reduce musculoskeletal stress that fuels recurring headache patterns.
The Vestibulospinal Reflex: A Hidden Driver of Chronic Headaches
One important — and often overlooked — mechanism is the vestibulospinal reflex (VSR).
This reflex connects your balance system to your spinal muscles. It automatically adjusts posture when you move your head.
When this reflex becomes dysregulated:
Neck and shoulder tension increases
Postural compensation patterns develop
Spinal alignment becomes strained
Headache frequency can rise
By targeting this reflex directly, functional neurology helps reduce chronic tension patterns at their neurological root.
The Role of the Autonomic Nervous System
Migraines are not just structural — they’re also neurological.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls stress responses. It has two branches:
Sympathetic (“fight or flight”)
Parasympathetic (“rest and digest”)
Many chronic headache sufferers live in a state of sympathetic dominance — meaning the body remains in a subtle stress mode.
This can:
Increase pain sensitivity
Lower migraine thresholds
Worsen light and sound sensitivity
Intensify nausea and fatigue
Functional neurology helps regulate autonomic balance, supporting vagus nerve function and promoting a calmer, more resilient nervous system.
How Functional Neurology Treats Headaches and Migraines
At Anew, treatment is customized based on neurological testing and assessment. We focus on restoring integration between sensory systems.
1. Visual Rehabilitation
Eye tracking exercises
Light desensitization strategies
Controlled visual stimulation
Goal: reduce visual overstimulation and migraine triggers.
2. Vestibular Rehabilitation
Habituation exercises
Balance training
Targeted head-movement drills
Vestibulospinal reflex retraining
Goal: improve balance processing and reduce neck-driven headache patterns.
3. Proprioceptive & Postural Training
Neurological movement exercises
Dynamic stabilization work
Neck and upper back re-education
Goal: reduce musculoskeletal tension contributing to chronic headaches.
4. Autonomic Regulation Techniques
Breathing protocols
Vagal stimulation strategies
Neuro-based relaxation exercises
Biofeedback methods
Goal: lower sympathetic dominance and reduce migraine severity.
What Makes Anew Different?
At Anew Functional Neurology, we don’t treat “headaches” as a single condition.
We evaluate:
Brain function
Balance integration
Sensory processing
Autonomic regulation
Postural control
Your treatment plan is personalized and may include:
Intensive multi-day programs
Standard 6–9 month rehabilitation plans
Daily therapy sessions
Home-based neurological exercises
Our goal is long-term neurological resilience — not temporary symptom suppression.
A New Path to Headache Relief
You don’t have to rely solely on medication to manage headaches and migraines. By retraining the brain, improving sensory integration, and restoring autonomic balance, functional neurology offers a comprehensive and root-cause approach to lasting relief.
Let’s restore balance — and help you move forward, headache-free.
Your Next Step
If you’re ready to reduce headache frequency and regain control of your life, we invite you to schedule a consultation with our team.
If you or someone you love is dealing with persistent Headaches or Migraine, appropriate care makes a difference.
📍 Contact Anew Chiropractic today to schedule your initial assessment.
Recovery is possible and it’s never too late to start.
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