Vitamin D deficiency is often found in patients with headaches and neuralgia, which I’ve already mentioned in previous posts. Chronic pain patients with low vitamin D levels were also found to have poor exercise tolerance, making their rehabilitation more difficult. Now, there is strong evidence from two independent studies, which involved over one thousand people, that those with low vitamin D levels were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia, and strokes. The researchers and those commenting on this research called for more studies before any recommendations can be made. This response of the medical establishment is typical in its lack of common sense. Yes, there are dangers in taking too much vitamin D, but shouldn’t they call for doctors to test for this deficiency and correct it when it is present? Even if we don’t know exactly if this supplementation will prevent strokes, Alzheimer’s or headaches, it makes sense to keep everyone’s level in the middle of the normal range.
Read MoreAcupuncture increases connections between different areas of the brain, according to Dhond and other Korean researchers who published their findings in the journal Pain. They compared the effect of true and sham acupuncture in healthy volunteers using functional MRI of the brain. They discovered that true acupuncture (insertion of one needle into the forearm) enhanced the “spacial extent of resting brain networks to include anti-nociceptive (pain-relieving), memory, and affective (responsible for emotions) brain regions”. The researchers felt that this enhancement of connections between various parts of the brain is probably responsible for the pain relief induced by acupuncture. After the recent German study of acupuncture for headaches which involved over 15,000 patients there is little doubt that acupuncture works for headaches (and many other pain conditions), but this study helps provide stronger scientific evidence that the relief is not due to placebo.
Read MoreI’ve written in a previous post that people exposed to pleasant music feel less pain than people listening to unpleasant music or to no music at all. Some studies have suggested that happy music (typically music with faster tempo and major mode) is better at relieving pain than sad music. A study by Chinese researchers published earlier this year in the journal Pain showed that both sad and happy melodies lower pain perception in healthy volunteers, as long as the melodies are pleasant. This study adds to the growing evidence that music can indeed relieve pain and, not surprisingly, that the music has to be pleasant.
Read MoreHoliday headaches are quite avoidable, but to avoid them you have to have willpower. I know myself that it is hard to resist all the chocolate that surrounds you during the holidays. If you have a choice, pick milk chocolate over dark. There is no scientific proof, but in my case I find that the higher the cocoa content the more likely I will get a headache. Of course I, like many other chocoholics do not consider milk chocolate real chocolate and don’t bother eating it. For the most part I stay away from chocolate altogether because it is addictive – once you start eating it, it is hard to stop. My headaches do respond to medication and when I do eat chocolate I make sure to have it handy. Another way to avoid headaches from chocolate, or for that matter any other trigger, is to avoid having more than one trigger at a time. That is if you want to have some chocolate do not also drink wine or do not eat chocolate if you did not get enough sleep.
Read MoreDr. Oz : “Like Alexander Mauskop, I believe that magnesium can help—it relaxes arteries and muscles in the body, both of which can help with headaches”. This statement in the latest issue of O, The Oprah Magazine is not very surprising coming from a cardiac surgeon – magnesium is routinely used after open heart surgery. Unfortunately, many neurologist and other physicians treating headaches still do not recommend magnesium for their headache patients. And this is despite all the scientific evidence and despite the recommendation of the American Academy of Neurology. I think this is in part due to their training that emphasizes the use of drugs rather than natural approaches. This bias is reinforced by the strong influence of the pharmaceutical industry.
Read MoreSmoking marijuana and taking its legal medicinal derivative, dronabinol helped one patient with cluster headaches, according to a report from the Montefiore Headache Clinic. Dronabinol is approved for the treatment of nausea and loss of appetite. The effectiveness of smoking marijuana or taking dronabinol for the relief of pain has been reported by many patients, but never proven in large trials. I generally discourage patients trying marijuana for the relief of any symptoms, unless they have tried and failed traditional medications and they have already tried marijuana and it did help. Marijuana not only has many negative effects on the body, but can be also contaminated by other harmful substances. Cluster headaches can be extremely intense and at times lead patients to thoughts of suicide. In view of this report it seems reasonable to try dronabinol in patients who failed Imitrex injections, oxygen and preventive drugs, such as high dose of verapamil, lithium, and topiramate.
Read MorePhysical inactivity was strongly associated with headache disorders, according to a large study by Swedish researchers published in Headache. They looked at 43,770 people with recurrent headaches and migraines and found that economic hardship and psychosocial factors (poor social support and experience of being belittled) seem to play a role in headache disorders. Of lifestyle factors, physical inactivity was strongly associated with headache disorders, while smoking to a lesser extent. Skipping breakfast, being overweight and underweight seemed to be connected to headaches.
Read MoreRed wine to relieve migraine? Red wine is a well-known trigger of migraine headaches (although French tend to disagree). A recent study published in journal Pain found that resveratrol, the active ingredient in red wine which is responsible for its health benefits, has pain relieving properties when given to rats. There have been no reports in the literature or from my own patients that resveratrol causes headaches and judging from this study, it may in fact help.
Read MoreMigraines may be helped by omega-3 fatty acids, a supplement that has gained well deserved popularity. Several recent studies suggesting benefits for the cardiovascular system prompted me to look at the headache literature. An article in Cephalalgia in 2001 by Pradalier and his colleagues concluded that this supplement is ineffective, at least when they looked at the number of headaches in the last 4 weeks of treatment. However, the active treatment with 6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids was significantly better than placebo when they looked at the total number of attacks during the entire 4 months of treatment. Taking into account this finding and considering that omega-3 fatty acids have other benefits while being very safe, it is worth trying to take daily 6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids if you suffer from migraine headaches.
Read MoreMagnesium is effective in preventing migraine headaches according to a new study published in the last issue of journal Magnesium Research. The researchers found that patients treated with magnesium, compared to those treated with placebo, had fewer migraine attacks and the attacks were milder. In addition, magnesium treated patients had improved blood flow in their brains, while those on placebo did not. This is just another confirmation of previous findings of the efficacy of magnesium in the treatment of migraine headaches. Since magnesium is very inexpensive and extremely safe, every patient with migraine headache should be given a trial of magnesium supplementation.
Read More15,056 patients with migraine and tension-type headaches were treated with acupuncture in a largest acupuncture study, which was financed by the German government. Results published in the latest issue of journal Cephalalgia by S. Jena and colleagues indicate that “acupuncture plus routine care in patients with headache was associated with marked clinical improvements compared with routine care alone”. This study should dispel any remaining doubt about the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of headaches.
Read MoreVitamin D deficiency has become a very popular topic in lay and professional literature, and deservedly so. Vitamin D is important not only for bone health, but for normal functioning of many organs. Its deficiency appears to be much more common than it was previously suspected. Dr. Steve Wheeler has found vitamin D deficiency in 42% of 55 patients with chronic migraine headaches. He presented these findings at the recent meeting of the American Headache Society. We do not have evidence that taking vitamin D will help relieve headaches, however if a deficiency is present correcting it can certainly improve overall health of the patient. One possible cause of what appears to be increasing incidence of vitamin D deficiency is widespread use of prescription and over-the-counter antacids. Reducing stomach acidity helps relieve heartburn and other symptoms of reflux, but it may also interfere with absorption of vitamins and minerals.
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