Migraine is a debilitating
condition for its sufferers. It’s costly 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.
Groton migraine sufferers want choices!
Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office suggests that exercise may be one
such beneficial option.
EXERCISE FOR CHRONIC PAIN
Migraine is, for most Groton migraine sufferers,
a chronic pain condition. It is not usually a one
time situation. Chronic pain disturbs
the nervous system as well as the specific pain-generator. 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 don’t emerge overnight. They come with
long-term, regular, individualized exercise bringing about improvement in pain and function. (1) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office tells
our Groton chiropractic patients with all types of
conditions that it’s slow and steady commitment that gets the result.
EXERCISE FOR MIGRAINE BEING STUDIED
Researchers and migraine sufferers alike hold out hope for a
simple, inexpensive approach to migraine care. For
example, a recent comparison study of
neck-specific exercise versus sham ultrasound to reduce
the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. (2) A new meta-analysis
in Headache reported that aerobic exercise for migraine patients
dropped the number of migraine days. (3) These are valuable
outcomes for Groton migraine treatment.
EXERCISE BENEFITS: Overall and Migraine Specific
Groton chiropractic patients are often
urged to exercise. Exercise seems like a recommended
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 positively impacts
the microvascular system that possibly influences
a certain type of cortical spreading depression. Specific
to migraine, exercise helped migraine self-efficacy by permitting
the migraine sufferer to have a sense of control which reduced
migraine burden. How much exercise does this?
“Sufficiently rigorous aerobic exercise” resulted in statistically
significant drop in migraine frequency, intensity and
duration. That is appreciated by Groton
migraine sufferers! Naturally, higher intensity exercise seems
to bring about more benefit. Pharmacological drugs like topiramate were
noted to be superior to exercise, but including
exercise into its use was suggested to provide
benefit. Migraine sufferers
who also experience neck pain or tension headache are reported as
benefiting from exercise. Low impact is worthwhile
if high impact exercise is not doable. (4) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office agrees
with the researchers’ bottom-line: exercise is a reasonable
evidence-based recommendation for migraine prevention.
CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. David Kulla on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares
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 welcomed relief by his patient.