What if Migraines Never Go Away?
Migraines are a common, disabling, and often progressive disorder characterized by increased excitability of the central nervous system [1,2]. It occurs in 18% of women and 6% of men in the US with peak prevalence in individuals between the ages of 25 and 55 [3]. The economic burden of migraine in the US is estimated to be approximately 13 billion annually [4] (Stokes and Lappin, 2010). With this many people looking for relief from chronic migraine and headache pain, there has to be an alternative option. There are many but first, let’s look at what causes Migraines.
The Cause
“Migraine is a neurobiological disorder involving both neurological and vascular changes in the brain during an attack,” says Susan Broner, MD, medical director of the Manhattan Headache Center in New York City. “People with a genetic predisposition have a reduced threshold for the activation of the brain’s ‘pain centers’ and become hypersensitive to stimuli that cause pain. These set off a wave of nerve cell activity and neurotransmitter release that activates blood vessel inflammation, feeding pain structures deep in the brain.”(2)
What is an Alternative Migraine Relief Option?
Neurofeedback works to create more efficient brain wave connections to increase brain performance. This is done through positive reinforcement by watching a movie or playing a video game. Neurofeedback training strengthens a trainee’s brainwave patterns to reduce negative symptoms associated with migraines and chronic headaches, which aims to maximize a brain’s potential.
Neurofeedback training helps to alleviate the debilitating pain and is very effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of migraines long term, providing relief for people who suffer from chronic headaches and migraines.
The Neurofeedback Story
Neurofeedback has been featured in the news from a study conducted by Dr. Stokes. “The NBC news Lynn Hertel, another of Dr. Stokes’ patients, is the focus of the ABC news story. Lynn, a flute teacher, was often unable to play music because of her migraines. The migraines were so debilitating that Lynn says, “I really didn’t have a life. I just survived between migraines.”Before trying neurofeedback, she had been through “countless treatments.”
After neurofeedback training, Lynn reports that her migraines are “practically non-existent” (About Neurofeedback, 2017)”.story focuses on one of her patients, Anedi Edelstein, who came to Dr. Stokes after a long history of medications for migraines. She had tried 10 different prescription drugs and was concerned about the side effects of drowsiness, which could affect driving with her young children. This story discusses how her migraines were impacted by neurofeedback training and reports that she is now migraine free.
Dr. Stokes and Lappin’s (2010) study showed that, “All combined neuro and biofeedback interventions were effective in reducing the frequency of migraines with clients using medication resulting in a more favorable outcome (70% experiencing at least a 50% reduction in headaches) than just medications alone (50% experience a 50% reduction) and that the effect size of our study involving three different types of biofeedback for migraine (1.09) was more robust than effect size of combined studies on thermal biofeedback alone for migraine (.5). These non-invasive interventions may show promise for treating treatment-refractory migraine and for preventing the progression from episodic to chronic migraine.”
If you are sick and tired of the debilitating pain and want to regain your life back, please call us at (844) 272-4666 or contact us below explaining your needs. We want to meet you, hear your story and discuss options on how to help
References
- Lipton R, Bigal M. Migraine: epidemiology, impact and risk factors for progression. Headache.2005. pp. S3–S13. [PubMed] [Cross Ref]
- Ambrosini A, deNoordhout AM, Sandor PS, Schoenen J. Electrophysiological studies in migraine: a comprehensive review of their interest and limitations. Cephalalgia. 2003;23(Suppl1):13–31. doi: 10.1046/j.1468-2982.2003.00571.x. [PubMed] [Cross Ref]
- Lipton R, Bigal M, Diamond M, Freitag F, Reed ML, Stewart WF. Migraine prevalence, disease burden, and the need for preventive therapy. Neurology. 2007;68(5):343–349. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000252808.97649.21. [PubMed] [Cross Ref]
- Hu XH, Markson LE, Lipton RB, Stewart WF, Berger ML. Burden of migraine in the United States: disability and economic costs. Arch Intern Med. 1999;159:813–8. doi: 10.1001/archinte.159.8.813.[PubMed] [Cross Ref]
- About Neurofeedback. <http://www.aboutneurofeedback.com/conditions/migraines/>
- https://www.prevention.com/mind-body/natural-remedies/migraine-causes-and-cures
- Neurofeedback and biofeedback with 37 migraineurs: a clinical outcome study. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2826281/>
