LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Migraine

MIGRAINE MAY INCREASE ANGINA AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE – (12-29-04)

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MIGRAINE: ASSOCIATIONS WITH ROSE ANGINA AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE

Another chapter in the continuing saga of oxidative stress and migraines. Previously, we have seen that fixing heart defects that may have lowered the level of oxygen getting to the brain helping with migraines. We have seen some of the migraine medications actually having antioxidant effects. Now we see a relationship with migraines and angina. There is a condition out there called cardiac syndrome X (not to be confused with plain ole’ syndrome X/hypersinsulinemia) that the research points to being related to temporary oxidative stress producing cardiac chest pain. The plot between migraines and oxidative stress/mitochondrial dysfunction thickens…

Read entire article here

Hypothalamic involvement in chronic migraine – (01-10-02)

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Hypothalamic involvement in chronic migraine

This is a very interesting article that relates hormonal dysregulation between the hypothalamus and adrenal glands as a causative factor in chronic migraines.

The article suggests that delayed melatonin release and hypercortisolemia may be factors causing the HA. It always bothers me when I have patients that come in with HA that have been put on pain meds or antidepressents. Headaches are a sign of unbalanced physiology, and these meds in no way address this. I remember one of my “longest enduring headaches” patient. She had HA for forty plus years. We addressed dysfunction in her neck, balanced insulin and cortisol levels, and fixed her constipation and she became HA free. She was happy her HAs were gone, I was happy we restored normal physiology and lowered her risk for any number of chronic diseases.

JNNP — Abstracts: Peres et al. 71 (6): 747.

Read entire article here

GET RID OF MIGRAINE HEADACHES THROUGH DRUGS – (12-22-03)

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Single-Site Botulinum Toxin Injection for Elimination of Migraine Trigger Points

This issue has come up quite frequently with the increased use of plastic surgery and botulism injections. Essentially, treatment of one facial muscle above the eye, whether paralyzing with injection or cutting with plastic surgery, shows drastic reductions or elimination of migraine headaches.

Regular readers of Updates know that I feel a great number of tension headaches are misdiagnosed as migraines. In my years of practice I’ve seen many headache patients and usually get excellent results. I feel that true migraines are more electrical in nature (a classification of seizures, actually). However, the impact of an intervention on a muscle would suggest one of two things.

First, our idea of what a migraine truly is is wrong; or (more likely), many of these migraines are misdiagnosed in the first place and are really tension headaches. Either way, I will now be sure to include treatment to the ocular muscles in any headache patients from now on.

Single-Site Botulinum Toxin Type A Injection for Elimination of Migraine Trigger Points – Headache, Vol 43, Issue 10, pp. 108..

Read entire article here

Chronic Migraine: Why Migraine Relief Has to Focus on This

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I can’t imagine life fraught with chronic migraine. Society doesn’t support the idea of a “cure;” that’s because migraine relief doesn’t focus on what matters.

All too often, migraine headache pain control is the goal. Or, even better, suppression of flare ups of headache with medications. This is what mainstream medicine focuses on and considers your treatment successful if one or both of these goals are obtained. Sure–they help to rule out the scary things like strokes, tumors and weird blood vessel formations, but these are very rarely the cause of headaches.

I have repeatedly stated again and again (I know–redundant, but I wanted to get the point across) that the problem with migraine headaches are not in the head, but rather a systemic problem affecting every aspect of the body and health. However, if we needed to focus on a single organ, the blood vessels and cardiovascular system would likely be the most important.

 The research showing that migraineurs have problems with their blood vessels is quite plentiful:

And these are just a few of the studies available. Overall, it seems pretty hard to deny that anyone with migraine headaches are having problems with their blood vessels. Here’s the kicker…

There is not a darn migraine medication out there that actually addresses the health of the blood vessels. In other words, migraine medications (of which, many are actually anti seizure medications) do not, in any way, shape or form, actually treat the migraine cause. They merely function by suppressing the pain. 

You will never get better by using medications to address your headaches. Period.

Certainly, migraines do go away seemingly on their own, or after a course of medication, but the true answer likely came from some other change that occurred.

This particular article continues to support the importance of focusing on the blood vessels in the health of anyone who suffers from a migraine.

The researchers looked at aspects of vascular (blood vessel) health in migraineurs. Most notably, they looked at epithelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Think of the EPC are a little “fix it” cell that helps to keep your blood vessels healthy. Higher levels of EPCs have been shown to protect the heart.

Researchers also found that, with time, less and less EPCs were present. In other words, the longer a migraine progresses, the sicker the blood vessels become.

It doesn’t get more serious than that. It also means that, if your neurologist or primary care doctor who is treating your migraines has not address lifestyle changes geared towards improving the health of your blood vessels (such as those found here), it’s time to find a new doctor.

So what changes have you made that have given you migraine relief?

History of Epilepsy? What Helps Migraines May Help As Well

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3 million in the US have a history of epilepsy. Few link migraines and epilepsy, but the connections are clear. Because of this, what helps migraines may help with seizures.

I can honestly say that few doctors link these two conditions together, but it is clear that migraines share very similar characteristics to seizures.  A few very astute researchers have coined the term “migralepsy,” but this is usually to describe a condition where a migraine headache is followed by seizure within a specified period of time.

I would suggest, however, that this term can help people understand that what happens in the brain in both conditions is the same.  What similarities do these share?  Just to name a few…

  1. Both seizures and migraine headaches induce a “post-ictal state” that results from the beating the brain just took.
  2. Both conditions have been linked to problems in the part of the cell called the mitochondria not working optimally.
  3. Anti-seizure medications like Topamax and Depakote have been used increasingly for migraines.

So what about headaches that are present in epileptics?  These are actually very common, although not all would be classified as a migraine.  Many times the headache may be part of the post-ictal period–the time after a seizure when there has been so much activity in the brain that the protective mechanisms in place to deal with oxidative stress are overwhelmed.

This particular study looks at the presence of both a migraine headache and seizures in epileptic children and found that the presence of migraines were much higher (25% vs as low as 3%) in these children than in children who did not have seizures.

The authors then mistakenly conclude that “It is imperative to address comorbid migraine in treating children with epilepsy.”  This means that medication should be considered to address the migraine as a separate condition.

However, I contend that it is not.  These are multiple manifestations of the same problem.  Much like depression and epilepsy being closely linked, these conditions develop as a result of the brain not being able to produce the energy it needs to function properly.

The best approach to migraines, epilepsy and depression is to focus on healing the brain.  Merely controlling the symptoms is NOT good enough.

So what positive lifestyle changes have you made to improve your migraine headaches or seizures?

Headache Specialist Giving Your Child a Throbbing Headache?

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Many chronic headache sufferers end up at a headache specialist (usually a neurologist) for a constant, throbbing headache. But could the drugs used be to blame?

This is certainly not the first time that I’ve been on a rant about how we treat headaches in children. Let me reiterate again that we should never, ever, never, not even for a second, accept that any type of head pain in children is “normal.” 

There is always something wrong and, in the vast majority of cases, there can be a quick and easy fix. It may be something that a few visits to a chiropractor could fix. I see this very commonly in kids whose backpack is way too heavy (it should not exceed 10% of body weight). When the pack is too heavy, the child leans forward to keep from falling backward. At this point they tilt their heads up so he or she is looking straight ahead. This overuses the muscles just under the base of the skull (called the suboccipital muscles), leading to headaches.

Other times it has to do with their diet. The brain is a pretty sensitive organ. If we send it too much toxic goo (think Twinkie on the brain…) or the child skips breakfast and becomes hypoglycemic, it may kick off a headache.  This doesn’t need medication. It needs the situation that caused it to be eliminated and gone.

Unfortunately, when a child has head pain, the concerned parent does what society accepts–they go to the pediatrician instead of a chiropractor. At this point, recommendations for pain medications, whether prescription or over the counter, are frequently given. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a child brought into my office at the request of the pediatrician, although my biased opinion and years of experience would suggest this would be the best direction to take.

But what if the medications used to control the headache actually create the head pain?

It is called a medication overuse headache, or rebound headache. The criteria are as follows:

  • Medication has been used for at least 10-15 days/month (varies based on type of medication in question) and has been used for more than three months
  • Commonly used medications include:  ergotamine, triptans (i.e. Imitrex), opioids (i.e. Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycodone) or combinations of these medications
  • Headache has gotten worse or developed since taking medication (i.e. if you were taking medication for knee pain and a headache started)
  • Simple over the counter analgesics (Tylenol, ibuprofen) are considered overused when they are taken on > 15 days/month for >3 months

These types of headaches have always been thought to be pretty rare (0.3-0.5%) in children. Of course we would–who would ever consider long term use of pain controlling medication in a child??

 This particular study kind of blows these estimates out of the water.

Researchers looked at a group of 118 kids with headaches, looking for how many of them would meet the criteria for a medication overuse headache. The findings were much, much higher than expected.

  • 9.3% of the children met the criteria for medication overuse head pain
  • In the group of children who experienced chronic daily headache, this number jumped to 20.8%

If you happen to like math and statistics (and really–who doesn’t??), you have already figured out that this is at least 18.6 times higher frequency of medication overuse head pain than previously thought.

What does this tell us? It tells us that society’s numbing to the use of medications to control pain and discomfort in adults is bleeding over into our children and adolescents, and our comfort level of using them in on our children is rising. Never a good thing.

 What have you found that helps your child’s headache go away?

MIGRAINE PATIENTS NEED FULL ATTENTION TO MANAGE THEIR LIFESTYLE – (11-21-05)

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Comparison of the effects of amitriptyline and flunarizine on weight gain and serum leptin, C peptide and insulin levels when used as migraine preventive treatment

This definitely goes into the “we’re mismanaging migraines” file folder. Since we are truly beginning to view migraines as a local manifestation of a systemic problem, drug therapy that worsens overall health is definitely a step in the wrong direction. Migraine patients need to be addressed with full attention to lifestyle to manage their headaches as well as lowering their risk of certain chronic diseases that migraine patients are at risk for.

Read entire article here

PATIENTS WITH MIGRAINE HAVE A HEART DEFECT – (11-21-05)

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Nearly half of patients with migraine with aura are found to have a heart defect, study finds

This one has created quite a stir in the cardiologist community. Many have moved on this information and are doing septal defect repairs in greater numbers. Skeptics point out that risk of stroke from this condition (known as paradoxical embolism – an emboli forms in the deep veins of the leg, breaks free, goes to the right chamber of the heart just as a patient is bearing down – called valsalva manuever- to allow enough pressure for the emboli to pass through septal defect to left chamber on, then still only 20% of this blood goes on to the brain) is very low. We may be looking at this from the wrong angle.

Studies have shown an increase in heart defects when a pregnant mom has increased oxidative stress. Maybe this is all just an inkling of the bigger picture that the migraine sufferer has been dealing with since he or she was in the womb. Either way, the migraine patient still needs to be viewed as a whole for full resolution of their headaches.

Read entire article here