Migraine is a frustrating
condition for its sufferers. It is expensive in terms of
pain, money, and pharmacological use necessity. Drugs remain
the “gold standard” of care. Patients often ask their
migraine healthcare providers for non-pharamacological options.
Minster migraine sufferers want alternative ideas!
Minster Chiropractic Center proposes that exercise may be one
such useful alternative.
EXERCISE FOR CHRONIC PAIN
Migraine is, for most Minster migraine sufferers,
a chronic pain condition. It’s not typically a one and done situation. Chronic pain affects
the nervous system as well as the specific pain-generating
issue. Researchers explained evidence that exercise helps a
variety of chronic pain conditions including migraine directly and indirectly
with an aim to change the cycle of pain,
sedentariness, and worsening disability. These
changes do not emerge overnight. They come with
long-term, consistent, individualized exercise resulting
in improvement in pain and function. (1) Minster Chiropractic Center tells
our Minster chiropractic patients with all types of
conditions that it’s slow and steady commitment that results in desired
outcomes.
EXERCISE FOR MIGRAINE BEING STUDIED
Researchers and migraine sufferers alike hold out hope for a
simple, 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
decreased the number of migraine days. (3) These are valuable
outcomes for Minster migraine treatment.
EXERCISE BENEFITS: Overall and Migraine Specific
Minster chiropractic patients are manytimes
urged to exercise. Exercise seems like a endorsed
panacea for everything from back pain to migraine to depression to neck pain
and so much more. Why? It works. Exercise stifles inflammation
via reduction of inflammatory modulators (many cytokines) and stress hormones
(growth hormone and cortisol). Exercise constructively influences
the microvascular system that possibly influences
a certain type of cortical spreading depression. Specific
to migraine, exercise benefited migraine self-efficacy by allowing
the migraine sufferer to have a sense of control which lessened
migraine burden. How much exercise produces this type of effect?
“Sufficiently rigorous aerobic exercise” resulted in statistically
significant decrease in migraine frequency, intensity and
duration. That is appreciated by Minster
migraine sufferers! Of course, higher intensity exercise appears
to bring about more benefit. Pharmacological drugs like topiramate were
reported to be superior to exercise, but including
exercise into its use was implied as being beneficial. Migraine sufferers
who also have neck pain or tension headache are reported to benefit from exercise. Low impact is worthwhile
if high impact exercise is not possible. (4) Minster Chiropractic Center concurs
with the researchers’ outcome: exercise is a reasonable
evidence-based recommendation for migraine prevention.
CONTACT Minster Chiropractic Center
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 incorporated Cox® Technic spinal manipulation
as well as exercise for appreciated relief by his patient.