For Patients

Headache and Migraine is one of the most common pain complaints and one of the most common reasons for days lost at work¹.  Research tells us that up to 54% of headache sufferers have never had a thorough consultation or diagnosis by a health professional¹.  This is an alarming statistic for the 12 million+ headache sufferers in Australia, particularly because the latest research implicates the upper cervical spine (neck) as a major factor in headache and migraine^2,3.

The good news is you don’t have to suffer, as headache and migraine can be simply and accurately assessed and treated.

Sufferers are often drowning in a sea of questions, losing hope and usually tried almost every self-help remedy or available pain drug.  This is an all too common story for sufferers often stuck on trialling various medications with side-effects, having multiple treatment modalities which only treat the symptoms and then eventually being told to “live with it”.  At The Headache and Migraine Clinic ™ we are pleased to bring you something new and evidence-based, that you likely haven’t tried before.

Our unique approach incorporates the genius of the internationally recognised Watson Headache ® Approach as a foundation with all the best of the non-pharmaceutical interventions on offer.  .  This includes our own unique combination of additional evidence-based treatments like therapeutic exercise interventions, acupuncture, spinal adjustments, nerve tissue interface release, muscle/ myofascial release, stress reduction and breathing control, lifestyle and postural retraining, and evidence-based nutritional and vitamin therapy.  These interventions aim to target the nervous system ultimately, with a goal to turn down the irritation and sensitivity that triggers the neurovascular event we call headache/ migraine pain.

At The Headache and Migraine Clinic ™ you will see one of our expert headache consultants who have had extensive training in the field and years of experience in the field treating a variety of headaches and migraines.  We want to give you an accurate, skilled diagnosis of your upper neck, whole spine and neural system.  We will integrate what is currently working for you or if needed give you a whole new paradigm and treatment plan if your current strategy is not working! Treatment is designed to give you freedom from the pain but also the fear of a headache or migraine attack.  We will listen to you, we look at the whole person and focus on treating the cause of the headache and migraine pain. 

Common Misconceptions and Myths of Headache and Migraines

Did you know there are many misconceptions and myths about chronic headache and migraines?  Here is a list below of some that have been…..

1. Migraine is just a bad headache……..Well yes and no. Yes both types of sufferers have the same underlying brainstem sensitivity but migraine includes activation of the trigeminovascular pathway and is usually associated with intense throbbing and more debilitating loss of function². See here for a thorough explanation of Migraine.
2. Mersyndol or codeine with paracetamol are a great ongoing option for pain relief for my chronic migraines……..Actually medication overuse headache is rampant and codeine based medications actually cause rebound headaches⁴.
3. The upper neck isn’t a major cause in primary headaches such as migraine, tension-type headaches, menstrual migraine, cluster headache etc…..

….for a full list of common myths and misconceptions around headache and migraine you can get our complimentary guide below.

Get our complimentary guide – coming soon

1. I think my NECK is causing a lot of headaches and Migraines.   // YES latest research is revealing that brainstem sensitivity can be driven by noxious input from the Upper three Cervical (neck) segments (joints, discs, nerves, muscles)^2,3.

References:

1. Steiner T.J. et al, Lifting the Burden: The first 7 years. The Journal of Headache Pain 11:451-455 (2010).
2. Watson, D. Drummond, P.D. (2012). “Head Pain Referral During Examination of the Neck in Migraine and Tension-Type Headache”.   52: 1226-1235. Doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2012.02169.x
3. Watson, D. and Drummond (2014). “Cervical Referral of Head Pain in Migraineurs: Effects on the Nociceptive Blink Reflex”” 54: 1035-1045. Doi 10.1111/head.12335.
4. Lee, M., Silverman, S., Hansen, H., Patel, Vikram., & Manchikanti, Laxmaiah. (2011). “A Comprehensive Review of Opoid-Induced Hyperalgesia”. Pain Physician. 14:145-161.