How Prodrome Can Help your Migraine Treatment Also in this issue: • • • • • •
Chronic Migraines and War of the Sexes? Chronic Migraine Sufferers Not Losing Their Mind! The Quest for Migraine Treatment: Mysterious Business Migraine Treatment To Make up for ‘Lost Time’ Biofeedback Helps Kids Chronic Headaches Massage Your Chronic Headaches Away
Migraine Treatment Centers of America Courtesy Magazine OCTOBER 2012
How Prodrome Can Help your Migraine Treatment
Tornado warnings allow people to prepare, and to avoid the path of destruction. Similarly, a prodrome is an early migraine warning that offers the chance to prepare for or avoid the full-blown migraine attack. If you suffer with migraines preceded by prodromes, you may be able to avoid your triggers, practice relaxation techniques and make sure your medication is nearby, just in case. According to Wikipedia migraines have 4 phases: • Prodrome – precedes headache from days to hours. Estimates are that 40-60 percent of migraineurs experience them. Signs include gastrointestinal issues, mood imbalances, hyperactivity, neck stiffness, sleepiness and food cravings. • Aura – neurological events like visual or sensory disturbances immediately preceding headaches. • Pain – headache. • Postdrome – following headache for days and involving mild pain, weakness, unclear thinking or even euphoria.
If you are one of the ‘lucky’ 60 percent of migraineurs with prodromes, make sure to take preventative and preparatory steps to help you cope with your migraines. The earlier you begin your migraine treatment, the better your shot at lessening the symptoms when the headache hits or possibly avoiding the full-blown attack.
Chronic Migraines and War of the Sexes?
If you believe men are from Mars and women are from Venus you will be interested in a research study out of Boston that suggests women and men’s brains may actually function differently, at least when it comes to migraines. The website ScienceNOW reported that the study examined 44 subjects. Within this group of men and women, half of them suffered with migraines. Based on self-reported surveys, the women and men both described their migraines as intense, but the women experienced pain that was more miserable. The head researcher, a neurologist and neurobiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School likened this to the difference of the loudness compared with the anguish of fingernails scratching a chalkboard. Upon analyzing brain scans, the researchers found the brain structures responding to pain in the women were involved in the emotional network, whereas in men the pain involved a specific area within the brain typically associated with reward circuitry, studied with addiction issues. This may suggest that the most effective migraine treatments for men versus women migraine sufferers might not be the same. Perhaps gender specific research could be the next frontier in finding migraine treatments.
Chronic Migraine Sufferers Not Losing Their Mind! While you may feel like you’re ‘losing your mind’, certainly while you’re in the throes of a migraine attack, science however says: Nope! According to a recent study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, there is no strong link between migraines and significant cognitive decline over long periods of time. In the past, there have been small studies, which suggested such a link might exist, but this large-scale study indicates otherwise. The study states that as much as 20% of women suffer with migraines. The research team analyzed survey data from 6,349 women, 45 of age and up. This group was broken into 4 subgroups based on their headache history: no history; migraines with aura; migraines without aura; past migraines. Cognitive ability was measured at baseline and then retested at two-year intervals for up to three times. The results indicated there was no significant connection between either type of migraines and long term effects on cognition or brain function. This is certainly promising news for migraine sufferers who can now focus their attention on finding the best therapies and migraine procedures to relieve their shortterm migraine symptoms.
The Quest for Migraine Treatment: Mysterious Business The search for effective migraine treatments has been baffling medical scientists for years. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that researchers are directing much of their efforts toward developing drugs that either block or act like antibodies to absorb the brain chemical CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide neurotransmitter), which they suspect has something to do with migraine pain. Their objective is to prevent CGRP from binding to its receptors before pain occurs. Scientists are hoping to develop this category of migraine treatment since many of the existing products may only help 50-60 percent of sufferers. Some individuals can’t take them at all due to medical conditions like heart disease.
While these drugs may be safe for those with cardiovascular disease, there has been some link to liver toxicity in early developmental research. At this point it seems there are no perfect migraine medicines. Interventional procedures like the Omega Migraine Procedure may provide a more desirable and long lasting treatment for some. The Omega Migraine Procedure, performed by Migraine Treatment Centers of America’s network of partner physicians, could be just the answer to the quest for migraine sufferers who are looking for a drug free treatment.
Migraine Treatment To Make up for ‘Lost Time’ Do you wonder where time flies when you are having a ball? What about when you’re not…doesn’t it seem like time is just dragging? And, then other times, it just feels like you’re in a fog? Interestingly, scientists have found data supported evidence that migraineurs may indeed encounter cognitive disruptions during an attack, clarifying the mysterious ‘foggy headed’ sensation. Scientists in China conducted a research study of adults with and without a headache condition. The subjects were asked to estimate the duration of time it took for images to appear on a computer screen. The migraineurs overestimated the time, albeit slightly. The migraineurs typically overestimated a 600-millisecond stimulation to be twice as long, lasting 1.2 seconds. The non-headache group, on average estimated the stimulation to last .9 seconds. While this difference is miniscule it certainly indicates there may be a valid reason why migraineurs sometimes feel fuzzy about ‘time’. While this study, published in the journal Headache, didn’t suggest the slight time distortion has any noticeable impact on cognitive function or daily life, it is certainly reassuring to hear the validation of what some chronic migraineurs experience—feeling a ‘little off’.
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Biofeedback Helps Kids Chronic Headaches What do high performance athletes, musicians, executives, and people with conditions including ADHD, migraines and chronic headaches all have in common? They have all learned to improve their well-being and enhance their performance with Biofeedback. This treatment has been used without adverse effects. It uses specialized sensing and testing equipment that monitors involuntary biological responses such as heart rate or muscular tension to external stimulation. The patient learns to change her response, for example through taught relaxation techniques, and therefore learns to control physical responses with her own mind. Migraine patients could learn to identify triggers by gauging muscular tension, withdraw and engage relaxation techniques to ward off the migraine attack. If your child has a chronic headache condition or if you are looking to treat his/her migraines drug free, biofeedback could be a wonderful alternative therapy to include in your treatment plan. Despite requiring time and effort to learn the techniques and develop a heightened awareness of one’s physical responses, it could go a long way in developing a positive attitude about taking responsibility and control over one’s health. That is certainly a great lifelong lesson for young and not so young alike!
Let Migraine Treatment Centers of America help! Do you suffer from chronic migraine headaches? Take the first step toward living without chronic migraine pain. Complete this postcard and send it to us. I would like to have a patient coordinator contact me about the Omega™ procedure.
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Massage Your Chronic Headaches Away As if you needed a medical excuse to go out and book a massage appointment! For those of you with headaches triggered by stress, poor sleep and muscle tension, massage therapy might be the solution. Since medications have been linked to overuse headaches and side effects, massage has increased in general and medical community popularity. With the approval of your physician, some therapies to consider: Craniosacral Therapy While focusing on the skull and tailbone, gentle manipulative pressure is applied to the skeleton and connective tissues.
Reflexology Pressure is applied to “mapped” locations on your feet and hands, corresponding with specific locations on your body.
Trigger Point Therapy (Neuromuscular Massage) Moderate pressure is applied to improve blood circulation and release nerve compression and muscular tension.
Self-Massage It’s free and available during a migraine attack! Using your thumbs, gently massage along your hairline and temples. One thing is for certain: most massage therapy techniques can ease muscular tension and stress. Adverse side effects are uncommon but some people get postmassage headaches and others may be advised against massage due to certain conditions. If your doc says it’s OK, a wellqualified massage therapist can send you off to your ‘Zen’ place!
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