Fireworks in the Brain: Understanding Migraines

 Fireworks in the Brain: Understanding Migraines


Nothing will stop you in your tracks like a headache. Headaches are painful and can be caused by a variety of things; therefore requiring a variety of treatments. 


But what is the mother of all headaches, the migraine and how is it different from a regular headache?


Regular headaches are painful, your head throbs or stabs in pain and often cannot be ignored leading to people seeking treatment in the form of hydration, a small snack, rubbing their neck or forehead or even taking medication to help ease the ache. But for those who have ever had a migraine: they have experienced that place of desperation where you would do anything to make them stop, especially if it is causing the pain/vomit cycle where the pain causes nausea but the vomiting causes more pain on repeat like a bad music playlist. The light, sound and/ or touch sensitivity, the dizziness, blurry vision, and painful skin or shaking limbs and the best part? It can last anywhere from 4-72 hours: it’s no wonder migraines are debilitating for most people. 


What causes Migraines?


Jury is still out on the official cause of migraines, but there is evidence pointing to a connection between them and the trigeminovascular system and the nerves of the face/ head producing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). CGRP is a powerful vasodilator and when released into trigeminovascular system (nerves located in the brain and responsible for relaying sensations of pain and touch in the face to a central hub in the brain stem) causes classic migraine sensitivity and pain. 


Who Gets Migraines?


Migraines are prevalent in around 10-15% of the population with it being more common for women than men and more common in the years leading up to young adulthood starting as early as elementary school age and fading into adulthood; but can occur or start at any age. It is a leading cause of disability for teens and adults. 


So, what are the most effective treatments for migraine headaches?


Although migraines are still a relative mystery and there has not been sufficient research done to prove many treatments beyond reasonable doubt: there are some options that seem to be doing well for migraine sufferers. There are medications that can be used as a preventative once migraines have been diagnosed and some that can be used after the onset of a migraine. The medications used for acute migraine attacks are usually triptans or NSAIDs where medications used for preventative treatments are usually antiepileptic drugs, antidepressants, beta-blockers, calcium channel antagonists, serotonin antagonists, botulinum neurotoxins, or NSAIDs. Usage of these medications reduce the emergency room visits for migraine sufferers by around 50%.


For more information on medications and how they work check out this Sage Journals article.   

For those who cannot or do not want to use medication to treat migraines there is a plethora of more natural treatments varying from herbal supplements and nutraceuticals to massage, chiropractic care and physical therapy. But are these effective treatments? For a certainty there are so called natural remedies out there that are someone trying to make a buck or just plain don’t hold up under scientific scrutiny. This blog isn’t about those, we are going to talk about the ones that have been proven by science to help. 


Nutraceuticals


The most common herbal supplements and nutraceuticals used for treatment of migraines are coenzyme Q10, vitamin B2, feverfew, and magnesium. The idea behind these is to adjust the metabolic processes in the brain and promote homeostasis within it.  With the limited amount of studies done on these treatments it looks promising that they can reduce the number of days migraines are experienced in a month and might even help reduce the intensity of the migraine when it is experienced. 


For more info on the studies done and effectiveness of these supplements check this article out 


Physical Therapy, Chiropractic Care and Massage


Looking for a more hands on approach? Physical therapy, chiropractic care and massage have been proven to help with migraines. 


Chiropractic care focuses on adjusting bones that have been displaced by tension in the muscular system thereby relieved the pain and discomfort brought on by the nerves being impaired or pressed on by the bone and muscle surrounding it. While this is not the main cause of migraines since the nerves associated with migraine pain are in the brain where you cannot get adjusted, spinal manipulation especially in the neck has been proven to relieve neck tension and some nerve pain in the face and head that are symptoms of migraines. According to Medical News Today: there are some studies out there that even claim chiropractic care may be just as effective as some medications and has far fewer long term and short term side effects. 


Physical Therapy 


Physical therapy focuses on on restoring and protecting movements of the body. With migraines this usually means working through mobility and tension issues in the musculoskeletal and vestibular systems. Using physical therapy in these areas has proven to show improvement in migraine patients by reducing their pain and the frequency of their migraines in as little as two weeks according to this NCBI article. In regards to the musculoskeletal system the goal is to reduce pain and sensitization using exercises, manual manipulation and education. To affect the vestibular system the focus is on posture impairment and regaining postural control and function. 


Massage therapy 


There are several types of massage shown to help with migraine headaches. The most effective based on the limited research trials available; and this AMTA article, seems to be myofascial trigger-point therapy applied to the head and neck. This is a therapy that releasing tension found in skeletal muscles by use of static pressure on specific points of pain. Other massage techniques that have shown to be helpful in regards to migraine include: Thai and Shiatsu, cold stone therapy, and stretching the neck muscles using PNF methods. Massage can reduce frequency or lessen intensity of migraine headaches in as much as 71% of sufferers. 


Conclusion


There are many different options on the market for people who have frequent migraine headaches. It may take a while to find the correct treatment or mixture of treatments for you, but once you figure out your magic combination you can look forward to less pain, less frequency and less impact on your life from these bizarre and terrible headaches. 


Stay strong. Stay healthy. Keep fighting for yourself, you’re worth it.

From: Ame Hinman at Hinman Healing


References and Further Reading


 2020 Jul-Aug; 24(4): 306–317.

Published online 2019 Nov 29. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2019.11.001 Pubmed. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7351966/


 2021 May; 13(5): e14868.

Published online 2021 May 6. doi: 10.7759/cureus.14868. The Efficacy of Herbal Supplements and Nutraceuticals for Prevention of Migraine: Can They Help?.Pubmed. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from https://www.amtamassage.org/publications/massage-therapy-journal/tackling-migraines-head-on/


Diener, H.-C., Holle-Lee, D., Nägel, S., Dresler, T., Gaul, C., Göbel, H., Heinze-Kuhn, K., Jürgens, T., Kropp, P., Meyer, B., May, A., Schulte, L., Solbach, K., Straube, A., Kamm, K., Förderreuther, S., Gantenbein, A., Petersen, J., Sandor, P., & Lampl, C. (2019). Treatment of migraine attacks and prevention of migraine: Guidelines by the German Migraine and Headache Society and the German Society of Neurology. Clinical and Translational Neuroscience. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from  https://doi.org/10.1177/2514183X18823377


Golden, Kate M.. (2017, May 23). Tackling Migraines Head-On. AMTA. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from https://www.amtamassage.org/publications/massage-therapy-journal/tackling-migraines-head-on/


Underwood, Emily.. (2018, May 18). FDA Just Approved the First Drug to Prevent Migraines. Here's the Story of Its Discovery- And Its Limitations. Sage Journals. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from https://www.science.org/content/article/will-antibodies-finally-put-end-migraines


West, Mary. (2021, September 21). Can a Chiropractor Help With a Migraine. Medical News Today. Retrieved July 13, 2022 from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/chiropractor-for-migraines


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