A World of Hurt: Migraines
I’ve had a lot of posts about headaches so far. I’ve had a podcast on headache basics, and a video to help prevent headaches. So I thought I’d talk about something that people may confuse with headaches: migraines. I was inspired to do this mini-series by a post written by Dr. Adam Tanase at the Big Idea Clinic. I thought he did a good job introducing chiropractic, and more specifically, upper cervical chiropractic (UCC), to migraine sufferers. Now, I can’t vouch for UCC, but I can give my input on how chiropractic has helped me with my headaches (and migraines).
So allow me to share a quick story.
I had been suffering from headaches constantly since I started school at NUHS. They’re 8am -5pm days. I come home and study more. It’s high stress. I was probably having two headaches a week, at least, with a debilitating migraine at least once a month. I treated them as I usually do – Tylenol or Advil for the headaches, and Excedrin for the migraines. I thought about going to the student clinic, but constant school put that on the back-burner.
Well, this past summer I ended up having a horrible migraine on a Saturday afternoon. It felt like there was a golf ball in my skull and it was rattling around when I moved my head. It was the worst headache I’d ever had. No over-the-counter (OTC) drugs helped me out, and sleeping it off didn’t help (I barely slept, actually). I suffered through it until that Monday and popped into the clinic early in the morning.
I actually saw my physiology TA, Kurt Hostnik. He did a quick problem-oriented history; he asked when it started, what helped, and asked me to describe the pain. He did some muscle testing and some electrical stimulation on my upper back to activate those muscles that were inhibited (this didn’t help me with my headache). Then he did something amazing, the lateral break adjustment on my mid to upper neck.
The headache went away instantly. I had a cervicogenic headache, where pain was referred from the upper spine (where the nucleus for sensing pain and temperature for the trigeminal nerve is) to the meninges of my cranium and my eyes, forehead, and temples (where the trigeminal nerve actually has sensations). I’ll go into more detail about that later.
I’m not going to say UCC, or any other chiropractic technique, is going to cure headaches. But I do think they can help relieve and, like in my case, get rid of those triggers. I’m probably down to two minor headaches a month (I’m still a student, after all).
So what I’d like to do is talk about the various types of migraines and headaches (and even a few things that may seem like headaches).
Migraine
Your basic, run-of-the-mill migraine is the most common and severe recurrent headache, which 10% of the population suffers from. I tend to think it’s probably higher due to misdiagnosis, or for those that just tough them out and don’t seek medical treatment. Typically, women get these more often than men, with a 3:1 ratio, versus a 10:1 ratio in men. This is one of the vascular types of headaches, where it’s described as a pulsing or throbbing type of headache.
What is a vascular headache, you ask? Well, the blood vessels that surround your brain end up constricting (called vasospasm). This decreases oxygen to the brain and this coincides with the prodrome of the headache. This is actually the best time for acute care, whether that’s OTC medicine, botanicals, or homeopathy.
I hear from professors that for some people, chiropractic adjustments can actually make the headache worse, and it’s probably the quick movements. In my opinion (and a lot of students), it actually nips it in the bud, so talk to your chiropractor about that.
During this vasospasm/prodrome, you may experience something called an aura. Again, this can serve as a warning to implement intervention. Both the prodrome and the aura last maybe an hour or so, which is then followed by the pain train, called the headache. The brain needs oxygen so it ends up forcing the blood vessels to dilate, causing a rush of blood to the get the the nerves of the brain. This rush can end up causing a lot of pain on nerves when it happens quickly.
It usually starts off on one side, while over time can spread to both sides, and feels like a throbbing inside your head. This can cause nausea, vomiting, and you may even feel completely drained. It’s also seen in very high stress environments.
Medical Treatment
Analgesics really just mask the pain and don’t do anything to prevent them. You’ll see vasoconstrictors given to prevent or end the headache.
Alternative Treatment
Cold packs on the head and neck will typically help. I’ve even heard that putting heat on your hands and feet, with cold on your head, helps. This is due to the constriction of blood vessels in the head with dilation in the extremities. Feverfew is a botanical that’s supposed to help prevent headaches (not treat them), but I’d talk to your physician about that first. I even heard benefits from high vitamin E, magnesium, and fish oil supplementation, but again, talk to your physician. Chiropractic may be able to help, there’s also a lot of success with acupuncture. Lifestyle and dietary changes help as well.
As you can see, there’s a lot of hope for migraine sufferers. We’ll continue this little mini-series next week. Until then, stay healthy and get off the “pain train!”
Image Credit: ambrosialove
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