For those with Migraine often the first thing they are told is… ‘we don’t know what causes migraine’ – not a great place to start! Then the consultation ends with something like ‘unfortunately this is something you have to live with’… and it is (because the research funded by pharmaceutical companies is focused on something in the head as being the cause), unless other possibilities are considered.
Despite decades of research by brilliant minds and funded by vast (pharmaceutical) financial resources focused on the cause as being within the head there is no agreement. The result… a band-aid! A great result for the pharmaceutical companies, but… for those with migraine?
Unfortunately, for the past 150 years it has been assumed that because of the throbbing nature of headache, the cause must be related to blood vessels inside the head. However, groundbreaking research over 20 years ago has shown that expansion of blood vessels is not the cause of Migraine.
Surely it is best to consider what is known about migraine. There is now widespread agreement that the underlying disorder in Migraine is a sensitised Brainstem… sounds serious (it isn’t), and… this is reversible.
The Brainstem stem also receives information from muscles, joints, ligaments and the disc from the top three joints in the neck… and research shows clearly that information from disturbances in the joints can sensitise the Brainstem… and 80-90 percent of migraineurs report accompanying neck pain/discomfort/ stiffness. Furthermore, many are frustrated that no-one is considering their neck, when their belief is that it is their neck – Migraine literally is a pain in the neck.
Determining if a disorder in the top three joints is responsible for sensitisation of the Brain stem in Migraine is straightforward.
By selectively moving each of the upper neck joints through their known (range of) movements in a smooth sustained manner, relevant (to Migraine) neck disorders can be identified. Temporary reproduction (and easing) of Migraine pain confirms a neck disorder as the sensitising source of the Brainstem in Migraine.
This examination is relatively easy by those skilled and experienced in the Watson Headache® Approach.
Furthermore, research has shown that treatment of relevant neck disorders using the Watson Headache®Approach desensitises the Brainstem – the only manual cervical approach which has been shown scientifically to affect the very core of the migraine process, and… without the side effects of the heavy-duty, anti-migraine medications – the Triptans – for e.g. Imigran, Relpax, Maxalt, Zomig etc.
If you are over medication (or have suffered significant side-effects), suspicious that your neck is involved, or that previous neck examinations and treatment has been inconclusive, and you are interested in making an appointment, please call: Proactive Physiotherapy Cairns 40536222