The throbbing pain of a migraine coupled with other potential symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, extreme light, sound, and smell sensitivity, and visual disturbances can be downright unbearable.
While there are many medications available to make migraines more tolerable, many sufferers seek natural options for relief. Oftentimes, incorporating some of these self-help approaches and lifestyle changes can make a big difference in the quality of life for those living with migraines.
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Two essential oils that migraine sufferers may want to try are lavender and peppermint. Lavender is touted to help ease stress and anxiety. In addition, one study noted that inhaling the scent of lavender essential oil helped to reduce the severity of some participants’ migraines. Peppermint oil has also been helpful in reducing migraine pain and symptoms and, when properly diluted, can be applied directly to the temples, neck, forehead, or other painful areas. Also, peppermint may help with nausea.
Putting pressure on certain points throughout the body can help ease muscle tension and reduce pain. For example, a popular acupressure point used by headache and migraine sufferers is located in the space between the base of the left thumb and pointer finger. The pressure should be firm but not painful. You can try squeezing this point and making small circles with your opposite hand for about 5 minutes.
Magnesium is a mineral that aids in many important bodily functions such as nerve transmission and blood sugar regulation. Taking a magnesium supplement has been shown to help with migraines and headaches. In fact, those who experience frequent migraines may actually have some level of magnesium deficiency.
Developing a regular sleep-wake cycle can prove to be very beneficial for migraine sufferers. For most people, aiming for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night is ideal. Getting too little or too much sleep can trigger more frequent and severe migraine episodes. As difficult as it might be, doing your best to go to sleep and wake up around the same times every day (yes, even on weekends) can help your body’s natural circadian rhythm and may reduce your chances of suffering from another terrible headache.
When it comes to eating well to take care of migraines, there are certain things to add to your diet and certain things to try and avoid. Many migraine sufferers will benefit from keeping a food journal that tracks their episodes and can potentially highlight any dietary triggers.
Foods to limit or avoid:
Furthermore, here are nutrient-rich foods to add to your diet:
Yoga is a great tool that can aid in reducing muscular tension, relieving stress, increasing flexibility, and decreasing overall pain levels. The nice part about adding yoga into your wellness routine is that it can be done in a number of ways. You may attend classes at your local yoga studio or you can practice in the comfort of your own living room by using an instructional DVD or YouTube video. Some research has shown that regular yoga may help reduce migraine frequency and intensity.
Stress is one of the most commonly reported migraine triggers. Certainly, everyone experiences stressors in life and learning to manage it can mean avoiding a vicious cycle that may make migraines worse. There are many outlets for coping with stress, and you might find some of the following tools to be useful:
Taking a B vitamin supplement, which often includes all eight of the B-complex vitamins, can help protect your body from migraines. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) might be especially relevant to migraine sufferers. Riboflavin is used within the mitochondria of your body’s cells to keep them healthy and producing the needed amount of energy for survival. Some research suggests that migraines might be triggered in part by reduced mitochondrial function and that supplementing with B-vitamins can help overcome this.
Dehydration can be a huge migraine and headache trigger. Even minor levels of dehydration can become problematic. Therefore, making sure you’re drinking water throughout the day and maintaining a healthy diet is important to stay sufficiently hydrated. A good rule of thumb that many people follow to estimate how much water they should be drinking on a daily basis is half of your body weight in ounces. For example, a 160-pound adult should aim to drink about 80 ounces of water (about 10 cups) per day.
A migraine is not your average headache. Migraine episodes are considered to be neurologically based. In short, they’re different from headaches that are caused by muscular tension or blood flow. Because of the nervous system involvement, upper cervical chiropractic care is an effective approach for migraine sufferers looking for natural, lasting relief. The upper neck plays a critical role in maintaining normal nervous system function. Consequently, having a misalignment in the uppermost vertebra in the neck, the atlas, can have a negative impact on proper brain-body communication via the nervous system. As a result, you may develop migraines.
Upper cervical chiropractors are experts in identifying and correcting these very particular misalignments that can be wreaking havoc on the nervous systems of migraine sufferers. Even if you’ve tried chiropractic care before with less than optimal results, the upper cervical approach can still help you with its methodical, precise, and gentle adjustments. The goals of upper cervical care include long-lasting outcomes and delivering as few adjustments as needed in order to accomplish the desired results. To learn more about this unique approach to migraine care, schedule a consultation with a practitioner near you.
References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-headache/symptoms-causes/syc-20360201
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322814.php
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TV show host Montel Williams describes how specific chiropractic care has helped his body.
The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
