I have had back-to-back weekends dragging my son, Kit, through London.
Last week we went to the marathon to watch my brother complete the 26.2-mile slog in the heat. His words “I had a great time up until about 7 miles and then I cannot understand why some people do this for fun.” This did make me laugh, he is not a runner.
Last night we went to see my football team take on Arsenal, the cherries aka Bournemouth have had their best season with a record number of points and after last night’s win their hopes of European football are still alive.
It has been great to spend one on one time with Kit before the baby arrives. He is very excited to meet his baby brother/sister in a few weeks – time.
I have been treating Charlotte for the last few weeks as she has been struggling with pelvic girdle pain, I don’t want to say it was my work as that would make me sound cocky’but her pain has gone, and she is doing well.
It has been a hot week and I have seen many of you coming in with headaches. Is it down to dehydration or something else?
It got me thinking about what the difference between a headache and a migraine is.
We see a lot of people in the clinic that come in for migraines and headaches and they have been told they have headaches, but they present more like a migraine and vice versa.
Let’s starts with; what a headache is?
They are more general so most of the time I hear a patient tell me “The headache is all over my head, usually the back of my head and can come round to the back of my eyes.”
They are usually caused by tension in the neck, emotional stress from work or home, dehydration (this is why we have seen quite a few of these this week) and often poor posture. We sit behind desks and use smart phones more than ever now and I see many patients who complain about their posture.
They are usually dull and achy and can be in the back of the head, often they can be a tension headache which is a band that goes around the head. Like the John McEnroe headband.
They can go on for an hour or can last for days. I sometimes get patients tell me “I have had this headache for the last week, it has been nagging”. I often see people who take pain medication regularly for headaches and have no clear long-term plan of how to deal with them.
How do headaches differ from migraines?
A migraine tends to be more severe and is a neurological condition. They can present similarly to headaches, so it can be confusing.
They are often caused by specific triggers like hormones (especially for women at a stage in their menstrual cycle), emotional stress, certain food types like chocolate or caffeine, smells or loud noises can trigger them as well.
The symptoms tend to be different as well:
-May include an aura-this is a visual disturbance like flashing lights or blind spots. If you have not had one, I describe it as looking into a kaleidoscope.
-Throbbing or pulsating pain usually on one side more than the other
-Sensitivity to light, sound and smell
-Sometimes vomiting or nausea.
They tend to be shorter than headaches and can last anywhere from 2-72 hours.
They can often require the patient to have to lie down in a dark room and sleep it off.
When I have had a migraine, it takes me a couple of days to get back to normal, I don’t feel sharp or quite all there.
Trigeminal nerve involvement
There is a cranial nerve called the trigeminal nerve and it is thought this can play a role in the physiology of migraines. There is a neuropeptide called CGRP and substance P released, these cause the blood vessel to widen around the head (vasodilation) and this can lead to inflammation and cause the pulsating and throbbing feeling.
How to manage migraines
These are split in to two types:
- Acute Migraine Management-this is when a migraine has already set in
- Pain medications- paracetamol and ibuprofen are the first line of defence. Then prescription medications like triptans and CGRP antagonists.
- Lie in a quiet and dark room with an ice pack over your head
- Drink a litre of water
- Use mindfulness and breathwork to try and relax the body
- Prevention-this strategy is for patients that are having migraines frequently, more than once per month
- Medications-beta-blockers, Botox or CGRP inhibitors (but I think the reason you are reading this blog is to try and avoid these medications.
- Maintaining a good sleep schedule, get up and go to bed at the same time each day
- Drinking plenty of eater, avoid caffeine that dehydrates you
- Mediation and breathwork to calm the body
- Supplements-there is some evidence suggesting these supplements can help: magnesium, riboflavin and CoQ10
- Getting adjusted by a Chiropractor
If you are wanting to chat more about the information above then why not book a call with me and we can go into more detail? Click here to book or if you want to get an assessment then Book a consultation with a Chiropractor here
If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment
