at the cross roads of holistic health
Links
Professional educational material
Cluster headache 
Signs or Symptoms
Severe migraine type headaches that are localized on one side of the head. They can last from a few hours to days.
Causes
Basically, the cause is unknown. There can be specific triggers that can range from stress to allergic reactions.
Standard Treatment
Medications are given to reduce the intensity of the headache, alter blood flow, or act as relaxing agents. A trtial and error approach is usually emplyed to find the medication that works best for you.
AK Approach
The examination begins with local factors in the head. These include testing to determine the normal motion of the bones of the skull, imbalances in the muscles of the jaw, and the tension of the muscles that hold your head on your neck. If there are imbalances that are found, then testing is done to find what is causing the imbalances.
Common factors are food sensitivities, environmental factors like perfumes, stress, bite imbalances, hormonal imbalances and spinal, especially neck, problems. The approach is to find the local imbalances that cause the headache and the triggers that cause them to occur. Treatment encompasses both of these aspects by correcting the underlying physical faults and removing or minimizing the triggers. Consequently, cranial corrections, spinal work, balancing of the muscles of the neck, head and especially those of chewing, and nutritional support for aimed at supporting the systems that trigger the headaches are all intertwined into a personalized treatment program.