Headaches, including Migraine Milton Keynes

The word migraine is actually French in origin although it comes from the Greek hemicrania.

There are four types of headache:

1. Vascular
2. Muscle contraction (tension)
3. Traction
4. Inflammatory

The most common type of vascular headache is migraine which is, as a rule, a blinding headache, usually combined with flashing lights and vomiting. They can also occur in other parts of the body. Chronic sufferers often find it difficult to hold down a job because of the migraines unpredictable nature; they can come on at any time and sometimes last for several days.

Frequently, sufferers have pain to just one side of the head (sometimes referred to a neuralgic migraine). Interestingly, three quarters of adult migraine patients are female but pre-puberty migraine affects approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. This could be due to hormones.

Some attacks will last for several days and can often be set off due to some kind of food intolerance, for example chocolate, cheese, fruit, alcohol have all been known to trigger an attack. Some triggers are hormonal; around menstruation for example.

 During an attack, the blood vessels in the brain dilate and then draw together with stimulation of nerve endings near the affected blood vessels. These changes to the blood vessels are probably what cause the pain.

Other kinds of vascular headaches include “cluster” headaches, which cause repeated episodes of intense pain, and headaches resulting from high blood pressure. Muscle contraction headaches appear to involve the tightening or tensing of facial and neck muscles.

Causes: 

Headaches are a multi-faceted condition and one approach cannot address all of the different types and causes of headache pain. One area that most experts agree on however, is that stress is a trigger and in some cases, a cause of headaches. Your GP is the primary point for the discussion and formulation of a treatment plan, but these plans are often focused on drug treatment. Many people like to complement a medication-based treatment with an alternative one; and sometimes find that the need for medication is lessened or eliminated, when the benefits of alternative therapies are experienced.

Traction and inflammatory headaches are symptoms of other disorders, ranging from stroke to sinus infection, and call for medical rather than alternative therapy intervention.

Symptoms: 

Many headache attacks are caused by stress triggers. Those who have never suffered from headaches or migraine will find it difficult to appreciate how awful they really are. Visual disturbances, nausea and pain are the main symptoms of a migraine. Learning to avoid things in your life which act as triggers or your response to them can help immensely in the treatment of migraines and tension headaches.

Often, pain killers aren’t completely effective and you may find yourself in an awkward situation where you have to stop what you’re doing, and lie down quietly in a darkened room until the pain passes.

Treatment: 

A hypnotherapist may use suggestions to divert you from headache pain by directing you into a place of peace and comfort. The hypnotherapist may also try to simply relax you, so that your muscles are less tense and you physically experience relief from stress and tension headaches. The suggestions are often similar to the concept of affirmations, where positive statements replace negative ones. Your hypnotherapist may use a statement such as, “My headache does not control me – I can relax myself and push the pain away.” Hypnosis uses mind power to direct and control physical pain.