Migraine Symptoms & Treatment

Migraine is a serious neurological condition, which can have debilitating effects such as pain, nausea and visual disturbances. It is estimated that around 10 million adults in the UK, more likely to be female, aged in their 20s, 30s or 40s and living with at least one other long term health condition. Migraine society Uk

I always work backwards when it comes to working with my patients and it’s astounding how many people I have seen and have heard are suffering with migraines that have been told to take medication after medication. More often than not these medications don’t work and then dosages are increased until they can’t function to hold down a job and look after their family.

The medical model in my opinion is great at saving lives from life threating conditions and trauma but it fails to help majority of the population with everyday issues, which affect their livelihoods, quality of life and family life. Migraines can be debilitating, and you don’t really understand them until you have experienced them or lived with someone who suffers with migraines.

When we see a Physiotherapist we all just look at present day symptoms, very few clinicians look at what has occurred in your past medical history. Who makes that decision if that information is relevant or not who sees that connection?

All patients have their own dysfunction blueprint from everyday stresses, trauma from birth or from the birthing process, previous head injury from childhood as far back as 2 years old or landing heavily from a fall onto your coccyx. I have treated patients from having stitches falling from a chair or being swung by a family member and banging their heads against a heater edge or falling from height hitting their chin. Just because it was 14 years ago, your body doesn’t forget.

It’s the tenacity of the therapist to find and explain these connections to you the patient who has entrusted us with your body and for us to have discussion with other health professionals.

My role is to find the connections with your cranium bones your sacrum to explain and to identify what position your sphenoid bone, occipital bone and sacrum is in. To explain why it is that walking through a perfume store will set your migraine off. Or when you have a lot of stress going on or when you eat certain foods you can feel a migraine coming on. This is what we need answers for.

What if everyone is looking at your brain and skull but they are not the driving factor and it’s just a symptom whilst all this time your pelvis is the possible issue. All the research again is pointing in one direction, and you have been given the label of migraines.

Often you have had all the MRI and CT scans but nothing has really given you an explanation but the only slight relief you have been given is to take fexofenadine, serotonin and ama thriptayline add names that you have been prescribed and because it improves the symptoms slightly you believe it must be the right diagnosis.

If we look at the most common medication prescribed for migraines (Serotonin). This medication is designed to increase blood flow to the brain to create hormonal changes which you get from exercise or most stimulants like caffeine.

So, we can hypothesise that there is a restriction or altered blood flow to the brain. In simple terms something is block or restricted, and something is restricting blood flow to certain areas of your skull, cranial bones of which there are 22. What if a few of the cranial bones are rotated or side bending what would that mean for the rest of your body and your migraines?

It’s okay for a knee not to be aligned we all understand that, but why doesn’t that rule apply to the cranial bones like the sphenoid or occipital bones and its relationship this will have on the 200 + bones in the body?

Whilst yes there are research papers out there on this issue not everyone is talking about it, because it’s easier to see a knee than 22 cranial bones or 26 ankles bones. Everything in the human body has a function it’s a lack of vison and knowledge that is our Achilles heel.

I always think of my amazing plumber, who drained my sink by working out what part of the pipe was stuck and why the water was not flowing through. Of course the body is not as simple as my kitchen plumbing but we are trying to complicate things too much. This has led to us not getting that far in dealing with day-to-day issues that people are suffering with.

Better clinicians and geniuses out there have already done the work, and I am standing on their shoulders. We are trying to be too clever and reinvent the wheel when there is no need.

I have patients who suffer from migraines telling me they started out on mild drugs to help control their symptoms with medications such as Sumatriptan. Then when this didn’t work GP prescribed topiramate. All of this was either done via the phone or a 2-minute face-to- face conversation. All health professionals are being stretched and patients are being miss diagnosed and time is playing a part in this. The best case scenario is getting in front of the right person at the right time.

So my question is, how many people out there has been wrongly diagnosed and been given medication without a detailed assessment? This is not a 5 min job and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Why don’t we work backwards and see if we can find out when it all started and what was happening in your life at that time. Was there a particular trauma that occurred?

Are they any scars, stitches around your face? Were you forceps delivered and was it a traumatic birth? These are the type of questions I will be asking. Please look at my service page for the different services I provide for migraines.

What is a migraine?

A migraine is usually a moderate or severe headache felt as a throbbing pain on one side of the head.

Many people also have symptoms such as feeling sick, being sick and increased sensitivity to light or sound.

There are several types of migraine, including:

• Migraine with aura – where there are specific warning signs just before the migraine begins, such as seeing flashing lights.
• Migraine without aura – the most common type, where the migraine happens without the specific warning signs.
• Migraine aura without headache, also known as silent migraine – where an aura or other migraine symptoms are experienced, but a headache does not develop

Some people have migraines frequently, up to several times a week. Other people only have a migraine occasionally.

It’s possible for years to pass between migraine attacks.

Red Flags Urgent Care

You should see a GP if you have frequent or severe migraine symptoms.

Simple painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, can be effective for migraine.

Try not to use the maximum dosage of painkillers on a regular or frequent basis as this could make it harder to treat headaches over time.

You should also make an appointment to see a GP if you have frequent migraines (on more than 5 days a month), even if they can be controlled with medicines, as you may benefit from preventative treatment.

You should call 999 for an ambulance immediately if you or someone you’re with experiences:

• Paralysis or weakness in 1 or both arms or 1 side of the face.
• Slurred or garbled speech.
• A sudden agonizing headache resulting in a severe pain unlike anything experienced before.
• Headache along with a high temperature (fever), stiff neck, mental confusion, seizures, double vision and a rash.

These symptoms may be a sign of a more serious condition, such as a stroke or meningitis, and should be assessed by a doctor as soon as possible or go to A&E.

There’s no specific test to diagnose migraines. For an accurate diagnosis to be made, a GP must identify a pattern of recurring headaches along with the associated symptoms.

Migraines can be unpredictable, sometimes occurring without the other symptoms. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis can sometimes take time.

Seeing a GP

On your first visit, a GP may carry out a physical examination and check your vision, co-ordination, reflexes and sensations.

These will help rule out some other possible underlying causes of your symptoms.

They may ask if your headaches are:

• On one side of the head.
• A pulsating pain.
• Severe enough to prevent you carrying out daily activities.
• Made worse by physical activity or moving about.
• Accompanied by feeling and being sick.
• Accompanied by sensitivity to light and noise.

Referral To a Specialist

A GP may decide to refer you to a neurologist, a specialist in conditions affecting the brain and nervous system, for further assessment and treatment.

In my opinion:

• Cranial osteopathy
• CranioSacral Therapy (CST Upledger Institute)
• Osteopathy
• Physiotherapy
• Acupuncture
• Functional doctor

All the above can play a part in your recovery and all should be explored rather than think there is not much more you can do to improve your condition.

Treatment stated on NHS Website

There’s currently no cure for migraines, although a number of treatments are available to help ease the symptoms.

If you find you cannot manage your migraines using over-the-counter medicines, your GP may prescribe something stronger.

This is sad and occurring to Migraine society Uk A survey of 9,770 people living with migraine found that most did not consult general practitioners due to thinking that GPs would not know about their condition or have empathy, because they did not think there would be appropriate care available or because they previously had a poor experience.

But you must ask yourself to have all the cranial bones been explored properly? Also have any one really listens to your story and try to connect the dots to help you start to discover your own body and control your own issue?
Well I am here to help click through or better still give me a call for a chat always happy to help.

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