Migraine is a frustrating
condition for its sufferers. It’s costly in terms of
pain, money, and pharmacological use need. Drugs remain
the “gold standard” of care. Patients often ask their
migraine healthcare providers for non-pharamacological alternatives.
Tonawanda migraine sufferers want choices!
Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation proposes that exercise may be one
such positive alternative.
EXERCISE FOR CHRONIC PAIN
Migraine is, for most Tonawanda migraine sufferers,
a chronic pain condition. It is not usually a one
time situation. Chronic pain disturbs
the nervous system and the specific pain-generator. Researchers described evidence that exercise helps a
variety of chronic pain conditions including migraine directly and indirectly
with a goal of changing the cycle of pain,
sedentariness, and worsening disability. These
changes don’t come overnight. They come with
long-term, regular, individualized exercise giving rise to improvement in pain and function. (1) Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation reminds
our Tonawanda chiropractic patients with all types of
conditions that it is slow and steady commitment that results in desired
outcomes.
EXERCISE FOR MIGRAINE BEING STUDIED
Researchers and migraine sufferers alike hold out hope for an easy, low-cost approach to migraine care. Case in point, a recent comparison project of
neck-specific exercise versus sham ultrasound to decrease
the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. (2) A recent meta-analysis
in Headache explained that aerobic exercise for migraine patients
dropped the number of migraine days. (3) These are valuable
outcomes for Tonawanda migraine treatment.
EXERCISE BENEFITS: Overall and Migraine Specific
Tonawanda chiropractic patients are often
encouraged to exercise. Exercise appears to be a recommended
panacea for everything from back pain to migraine to depression to neck pain
and so much more. Why? It works. Exercise suppresses inflammation
via reduction of inflammatory modulators (many cytokines) and stress hormones
(growth hormone and cortisol). Exercise constructively impacts
the microvascular system that possibly affects
a certain type of cortical spreading depression. Migraine specifically, exercise helped migraine self-efficacy by allowing
the migraine sufferer to have a sense of control which lessened
migraine burden. How much exercise does this?
“Sufficiently rigorous aerobic exercise” brought about statistically
significant reduction in migraine frequency, intensity and
duration. That is welcomed by Tonawanda
migraine sufferers! Naturally, higher intensity exercise seems
to bring about more benefit. Pharmacological drugs like topiramate were
reported to be superior to exercise, but including
exercise into its use was suggested to be beneficial. Migraine sufferers
who also experience neck pain or tension headache are reported as
benefiting from exercise. Low impact is valuable
if high impact exercise is not doable. (4) Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation concurs
with the researchers’ outcome: exercise is a practical
evidence-based recommendation for migraine prevention.
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. David Kulla on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes
how he followed The
Cox®
Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his patient with
migraine which included Cox® Technic spinal manipulation
as well as exercise for welcomed relief by his patient.