Overview

Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily experiences, painful headaches, and nausea. It is a common condition which affects women more frequently than it does men.

The typical migraine headache is one-sided and pulsating, lasting 4 to 72 hours. Accompanying complaints are nausea and vomiting, and a heightened sensitivity to bright lights (photophobia) and noise (hyperacusis). Approximately one third of people who experience migraine get a preceding aura, in which a patient may sense a strange light or unpleasant smell. Patients often describe triggers they feel precipitate an episode of migraine, such as certain foods and beverages (like chocolate or alcohol), stress or menstruation. In some migraine types there are typical features but the headache remains absent, and in children abdominal pain may be a prominent feature.

Although the exact cause of migraine remains unknown, the most widespread theory is that it is a disorder of the serotonergic control system. Genetic factors may also contribute. Studies on twins show that genes have a 60 to 65% influence on the development of migraine. Fluctuating hormone levels show a relation to migraine in several ways: three quarters of adult migraine patients are female while migraine affects approximately equal numbers of boys and girls before puberty,[citation needed] and migraine is known to disappear during pregnancy in a substantial number of sufferers.

The treatment of migraine begins with simple painkillers for headache and anti-emetics for nausea, and avoidance of triggers if present. Specific anti-migraine drugs can be used to treat migraine. If the condition is severe and frequent enough, preventative drugs might be considered.

The word migraine is French in origin and comes from the Greek hemicrania, as does the Old English term megrim. Literally, hemicrania means "half (the) head".

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Welcome to my Journey in Headache and Migraine

Welcome to my journey.

My journey started in 1987 when I commenced a Masters research program at the University of South Australia. The results of this research were published in the international headache journal, Cephalalgia, and have influenced the management of cervicogenic (neck-related) headache sufferers.

In 1991, I established The Headache Clinic in Adelaide, South Australia, which became recognised nationally and internationally. Since then I have treated headache and migraine sufferers exclusively. I have now examined the necks of over 7000 headache and migraine sufferers and completed in excess of 14000 treatments. Now traditional medicine does not consider disorders of the neck to be involved in the headache and migraine process, but my clinical experience suggests very strongly that they do!

During this time my fundamental purpose has been and is to determine whether or not a neck disorder is the cause of or a significant contributing factor to headache or migraine - I believe that every headache sufferer has the right to know their headache diagnosis as precisely as possible, to know the nature of their headache disorder, its outcome and possible types of treatment.

Whilst my emphasis is on the neck as a source of headache, this does not blind me to the possibility of other factors as the cause of headache - I recognise that not all headache comes from disorders of the neck and that headache may have more than one cause. However given that the cause of migraine and other forms of headache are unknown it seems logical and reasonable that a skilled examination of your neck occurs after an assessment by your GP or Neurologist (and generally all the tests are negative) and before medication is prescribed - this may prevent a lifetime tied to medication, a lifetime of checking whether you have your headache or migraine medication in your handbag before you leave the house!

Current research shows that migraine is not a problem with the blood vessels and that tension headache is not caused by increased tension in the muscles of the scalp and forehead! More of that next time ....

Don't forget to see me at my office for more further tips, guidelines on how to get rid of your headache for real. It will always be my pleasure to help you with this problem.

The Headache Clinic was established in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1991.

Headache Clinic Locations:

1) Unit 5/259 Unley Road Google Map Malvern 5061, South Australia

2) 468 Greenhill Road Google Map Hazelwood Park 5066, South Australia

Yours truly,

Dean Watson

Consultant Headache and Migraine Physiotherapist; Adjunct Lecturer, Masters Program, School of Physiotherapy, University of South Australia; PhD Candidate, Murdoch University, Western Australia.

Hope you Enjoy Reading this article. My main focus is to teach and share my ideas which are indeed related to headache migraine, headache treatment, migraine treatment, headache causes, migraine causes, tension headache, tension headache treatment, menstrual migraine, headache diagnosis, headache symptoms.

Autor: Dean Watson

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy Headache Treatment and additional articles on Headache Causes .


Added: August 28, 2009
Source: http://articlerich.com/Article/Welcome-to-my-Journey-i~

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