Headache & Migraines

Headaches and migraines can be due to a variety of causes. Anyone who suffers from headaches or migraines on a regular basis is encouraged not to simply try to cope with it by taking regular doses of pain killers. It is worth having it checked out medically first because headaches can be due to a variety of causes. Even where there is no clear underlying medical condition, headaches can be caused by:

• Whiplash
• Temporo mandibular disorders
• Stress and tension (and this includes migraines)
• Hypersensitive allergic reactions to certain foods or chemicals
• Poor posture
• Muscular tension from back, hip, pelvic or leg injury that cause skeletal imbalance.
• Eye strain
• And many other conditions.

Our clinicians focus primarily on those headaches caused by muscular problems, stress and tension and poor posture as well as from the “flow through” effect of conditions such as RSI. We adopt a number of approaches that include:

• Assistance in establishing an appropriate life style that combines appropriate diet, exercise and recreation.
• Developing a personalised stress management program
• Assistance with posture and muscular relaxation
• If necessary developing a pain coping strategy

We use conventional pain, stress and psychotherapeutic approaches to reduce the pain experience and will at times combine our approach with different forms of biofeedback. This includes measuring the levels of tension in relevant muscles and teaching the person how to relax these specific muscles.
We also strongly recommend the use of a form of biofeedback called neurofeedback for anyone suffering from chronic migraine conditions. This involves measuring the patterns of brainwaves in the migraine sufferer’s brain by means of a process known as Quantitative Electro Encephalograph (or QEEG for short) in order to determine in which areas the brain activity is not operating as expected. Depending on the outcome, it is possible to use a form of EEG biofeedback that routes the results through a computer. This is used to help the migraine sufferer change their own brain activity to reduce the likelihood of migraines. This can also be achieved through a different but related approach called Haemo Encephalography (or HEG) that can directly help the person to learn how to change the blood flow to affected areas of the brain.
A useful online site for general information regarding headaches and migraines is:
http://pain.healthcentersonline.com/headachemigraine/?WT.srch=1
A good New Zealand site regarding neurofeedback is:
http://www.yellow.co.nz/site/biofeedback/