If you suffer from migraine headaches, you've got plenty of company. More than 10 per cent of the population is hurting right along with you, including 18 per cent of women. Migraines are most common from the ages of 25 to 55. But new research can help change your approach to managing migraines. Here are five strategies.
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Calm yourself the right way: Worry can cause a headache, but a study from Yeshiva University in New York found that the relief experienced after a stressful situation can also bring on the pain.
The cause may be a drop in stress hormones, including cortisol, says study co-author Dawn Buse, behavioural medicine director at Montefiore Headache Centre in New York City. So calming yourself the right way can cut your risk.
"If the stress has already passed, it's wise to use all of the factors that may protect against migraine including sleep, proper nutrition, physical activity and exercise, and relaxation practices, which balance the nervous system," Buse said. Those practices could include cognitive behavioural therapy, guided visual imagery or simply closing your eyes for 30 seconds to focus on your breathing.
Learn to meditate: Speaking of relaxation, meditation may just be the ticket, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
"Those in our study who took a two-hour instructive class in mindful meditation for eight weeks and meditated on their own five days a week for 35 to 40 minutes experienced migraines that were less severe and shorter," said lead study author Dr Rebecca Erwin Wells. Chronic migraine sufferers also reported 1.4 fewer migraines per month on average.
Tweet pain away: University of Michigan researchers analysed 21,741 tweets about migraine, 65 per cent by people experiencing a headache at that time, and found that expressing feelings about the pain may provide symptom relief.
"Neuro-imaging studies have suggested that emotional and cognitive areas in the brain can modulate, in part, activity related to the perception of physical pain," said study author Alexandre DaSilva. "Social media may provide relief for migraineurs that goes beyond the emotional."
Don't obsess over red wine: Aged cheese. Chocolate. Wine. Caffeine. Most migraine sufferers are familiar with a long list of foods that may kick off a headache. But it's not so simple, says Dr Fred Cutrer, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
"It's key to remember that migraines are caused in many people by compounding factors. If you experience a strong smell like perfume, flickering or flashing lights, less sleep and you eat a cold-cut sub with nitrates all in one day, yes, you may get a migraine, but if you ate that sub on a day when you didn't experience those other triggers, you might be just fine."
If a migraine does strike, try eating bread or crackers to raise your blood sugar and ease symptoms.
Don't overtreat: Before your doctor sends you off for expensive imaging tests, ask to talk about your migraines. And try keeping a headache diary. Once patients can identify each of their own migraine triggers, they can take active steps to prevent them."
Los Angeles Times
