Suffering from Migraines? Here’s How You Can Find Relief

If you’ve had a migraine before, then you know how painful and debilitating it can be. Around 39 million people in the United States alone experience migraines, making it the third most common health condition in the world. 

Before you attempt to reduce the symptoms of your migraine, it’s important to first identify the type of migraine you have so you can narrow down on the most effective treatment method. 

Types of Migraines

While migraines are in the head, they don’t always stem from there. There are over 150 types of migraines, but the most common ones are: 

• Migraine with aura: Aura refers to visual and sensory symptoms like visual shapes or flashes, numbness, tingling, and more that happen before the onset of head pain. 
• Migraine without aura: These are the most common types of migraines, and are characterized by pain without aura beforehand. 
• Chronic migraine: Chronic migraines are characterized by headaches for more than 15 days a month for over three months. 
• Silent migraine: As the name suggests, silent migraines come without head pain, but can sometimes cause nausea and other symptoms. 
• Abdominal migraine: Abdominal migraines don’t cause head pain but instead cause stomach pain as a reaction to migraine triggers. 
• Menstrual migraine: Menstrual migraines usually start before the beginning of a period and can last for a few days after. 

How to Find Quick Migraine Relief 

Migraines are no different from injuries in terms of the pain they cause. While both injuries and migraines can be managed, there’s one difference—migraines can sometimes be prevented. 

The most common migraine treatments include: 

Medication 

There are two types of medication when it comes to migraine treatment: abortive and preventative. Abortive medications can be taken at the first sign of a migraine, i.e., mild pain, aura, nausea, light sensitivity, etc. 

Preventative medications are usually prescribed for chronic migraines, or when the migraines are extremely severe and significantly interfere with daily life. They are taken regularly to reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. 

Home Remedies 

Home remedies are also called alternative migraine management methods, and include: 

• Relaxing in a dark, quiet, and cold room. If it’s possible, try to sleep.
• Temperature therapy. Apply a hot or cold compress to your forehead or behind your neck. Ice packs can numb the pain while hot packs can relax tense muscles. You can use either depending on which works best for you.
• Get some caffeine. In small quantities, caffeine can relieve migraines when they’re in the early stages. However, note that drinking too much caffeine can lead to a withdrawal headache later on.
• Practice making lifestyle changes like establishing healthy sleep patterns, avoiding foods that trigger migraines, exercising, managing stress, and keeping a migraine journal.

Since migraines come in many types and varying degrees of severity, it can be difficult to learn how to handle yours. It’s important to know more about your health conditions so you can make the right choices when treating them, which is where Orthobiologics Associates comes in. 

We’re focused on making sure our patients have access to the knowledge and resources they need to make educated decisions about their health. To learn more about migraines and how you can treat yours, call us at (877) 381-4200 or contact us online today.