Migraines

if you have ever experienced a migraine, you know how disrupting it can be. It just takes the joy away, getting things done becomes difficult and you just want relief, and now. The pain can be very intense and disrupting. Over 30 million people have one or more migraines each year. Sometimes it can be several times a week. This may include one side of the head but not all the time. There are other signs preceding a migraine as well, 2-4 days before the onset. There are many different factors that can set it off.

The exact cause of migraines remains a mystery. There is a genetic correlation with 70% of sufferers having a first degree relative with migraines (1). There is also a stress component to migraines. It was originally thought to be a vascular issue that starts with vasoconstriction followed by rebound vasodilation, affecting cerebral perfusion. It was therefore thought to be strictly neurogenic and that it starts in the brain. There is other theories to explain the etiology of migraines, but none of them have resulted in a true explanation. Its clearly very complex and involves many factors (2).

There is a new theory that is gaining ground (3). Migraines maybe an immune response! I had a colleague in the research lab I was working in long ago, which was an immune research lab. He would get migraines whenever he would get stressed out and it would easily last for a couple of days to a week. That was in the 90’s. I started thinking migraines maybe an immune related response in the brain. When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail, so since I was working in an immune lab, naturally I started thinking about the possible role of immune system and stress in setting off his migraines. Given that 70% auto-immune conditions affect women, and about 70% of migraine sufferers are women even though my co-worker was a man, it seemed even more plausible that migraines do indeed have an immune component in the brain so I didn’t rule out the possibility of his migraines being due to an immune reaction in the brain. Long story short, this theory is gaining favor due to lots of research pointing to the role of immune system in migraines. The idea (of mine) is old, the research and exciting new findings are new, and the exact cause, or causes remain to be proven. My bet is that serotonergic cells in the raphe nuclei of the brain stem get attacked by glial cells and perivascular macrophages

What ever the cause turns out to be, including multiple causes, one thing I have observed repeatedly since I learned this technique from a colleague in Santa Barbara: very effective treatments can be achieved with a combination of points he showed me, and along with immune modulating acupuncture points, this technique that has been amazing and perfected here at Summit Healing Arts.

If you have been experiencing migraines, I can help you reduce the frequency and intensity of your migraines significantly. Make an appointment and be amazed at what can be achieved, all without drugs.