Migraines
Migraines can be a very severe and crippling affl iction. But, over my decades of practiceI will have seen 50 or 60 bad sufferers, with about 85% clear-up rate. In fact the worsethey are the more successful the treatment!Apart from unbearable pain the condition can have many other features. Visual symptoms,nausea, depersonalization and the need for isolation and darkness are common. Bodyparts away from the head are often affected: with weird sensations, spasms of gut,numbness, odd speech, plus pins and needles cropping up all over the place. Exhaustionafter an attack is usual.
Many Factors
Hormones, dietary and metabolic triggers, eyesight, social and occupational pressures,body type and muscular knotting may all be part of the picture. Most obvious to theosteopath are the tensions displaced from the face to the jaw and skull muscles, plus thedeep muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle. Rebalancing all of this is very challenging,but can be done.
Treatment
Progress is very easy to monitor here. Sadly orthodox medicine only attempts to abortattacks with powerful drugs. Some are very toxic and dangerous, and deaths are notunknown. Good body therapy is far more successful. It is non-toxic but slow; most takingsix months or more.
The Person
I have been lucky to have treated so many interesting migrainers. These are very capablecreative people in music, law and administration, the arts and charities; some of themgreat mums and dads; some just fi ne and quirky human beings. They can learn veryquickly to release the jaw and manage feelings of rage and terror, embarrassment andinadequacy very differently. Once they get going they engage with a very bouncy senseof fun; letting go of their surplus tenacity and grim determination, repacing themselvesto enjoy a more full and balanced existence. YES. I think more than 85% of them canleave migraines behind.