Before you start packing your bags, it’s important to learn why St. Louis is a bad place to live if you frequently suffer from headaches since there are many contributing factors. More often than not, the city has nothing to do with your frequent headaches and it’s an underlying problem instead. Discover some of the top causes of headaches and how living in St. Louis might be some of the blame.
Environmental Factors
One of the top reasons why St. Louis makes the list of the top worst places to live for migraine sufferers is due to environmental factors. If you live in St. Louis, it will come as no surprise to you that frequent weather changes occur all the time. It might be warm and sunny one day and snowing the next. A dramatic change in temperature can also cause headaches. When you frequently get headaches when the weather changes suddenly, it’s due to barometric pressure. When the barometric pressure drops, it can cause typical headache symptoms in addition to vomiting and nausea, numbness in the face or neck, pain in both temples, and increased sensitivity to light.
Try to keep a log of when your headaches occur and make note of what the weather was that day. If you tend to get headaches whenever it’s raining or humid, it can be due to the change in barometric pressureーsomething St. Louis is no stranger to.
Eating Certain Foods
Your diet can also have a huge effect on whether or not you get frequent headaches. Some of the most common food triggers for migraines include:
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Dairy products
- Wheat products
- Eggs
- Citrus fruits
- Nitrates found in foods (processed meats)
- Alcohol including red wine
- Aspartame
- Chocolate
- Nuts
- Aged cheeses
- Caffeine
- Food additives including MSG
These types of foods are no stranger to St. Louis residents. Take a look at your diet and evaluate when you get headaches. If you notice that you get them after eating certain foods, there’s a good chance food is the cause.
Lifestyle Factors
Another reason St. Louis made the list of top worst places to live due to migraines is from lifestyle factors. If you’re caught up in the hustle and bustle of city life, you’re likely more stressed out than those who live further from the city. Stress is one of the top causes of headaches. You can also feel more stressed out if you have a longer commute. Evaluate your lifestyle to identify whether you’re feeling too stressed out and if you tend to get headaches after work, after a long commute, or during other stressful times in your life.
Frequency of exercise, insomnia, and time spent outside can also be a contributing lifestyle factor of frequent migraines.
Prescriptions Filled
Another reason St. Louis made the list is that the city has a high number of prescriptions for migraine medication. The high number of prescriptions is an indicator that St. Louis residents have frequent migraines in common.
It Might Not Be St. Louis, It Might Be TMJ
Although all the factors listed above are common causes of migraines in people who live in St. Louis, the city and its contributing factors might not be the true blame. If you’ve struggled to find a migraine treatment that works, it’s likely that you just haven’t found the actual cause and received the right treatment for the cause.
One of the most undiagnosed causes of frequent headaches and migraines is temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). TMJ disorder occurs when there’s an imbalance in your jaw joints that causes your body to try and remedy the problem by overcorrecting it. This usually results in grinding, clenching, and muscle fatigue in the jaw.
People with TMJ disorder also experience frequent headaches and migraines, shoulder tightness, tingling fingers, pain behind eyes, shoulder, head and neck pain, sore jaws, ringing in the ears, and worn teeth.
To find out if you have TMJ, you will need to visit our St. Louis TMJ dentist for a consultation. During your appointment, we will evaluate your jaw and use advanced dental technology to see how your jaw joints, spine, and teeth align, to measure muscle activity in your jaw, and much more.
After taking lots of tests, we can determine the correct treatment plan to bring your relief from frequent headaches and migraines and any other symptoms you suffer from.
With our help, you can continue living in St. Louis and loving it without suffering from a common headache and migraine.
Please contact Smile On Dental Studio at (314) 678-7876 to book a consultation for TMJ today. You might be feeling like yourself in just a few weeks after starting your treatment!
