‘Triptan’ Overuse Headache

It is interesting to note that we now

have another condition (or complication) in the headache and migraine industry

– ‘Triptan Overuse Headaches’! This was always going to happen as it did with...

It is interesting to note that we now

have another condition (or complication) in the headache and migraine industry

– ‘Triptan Overuse Headaches’! This was always going to happen as it did with

‘Medication overuse headache’.

Whilst for many of my patients, the

triptans were their best friend initially, eventually over time they were

finding that they were needing to take another one in decreasing intervals,

i.e. their effectiveness is decreasing or ….. perhaps it is that the cause of

the sensitisation process is worsening.

It is imperative that the source of the

sensitisation of the brainstem be determined.

Essentially the brainstem is influenced

by four systems:

   

* serotonin

   

* diffuse noxious inhibitory control system

   

* information from structures inside the head – blood vessels, teeth,

gums, eyes, sinuses etc

   

* information from structures of the upper neck – muscles, ligaments,

capsules, joints etc

Of the above the easiest to confirm or

eliminate is information from the neck.

Can you imagine how one of my patients

who was experiencing migraine daily and who was taking Imigran (a triptan)

three a times day for the past 10 years, felt when her migraine eased within 30

seconds after placing her head into a retracted (i.e. the opposite to a poking

chin posture) position – she burst into tears! What a moment ….she realised her

neck was contributing to her migraine.

YourHeadacheSoultions.co.uk is one voice

of the Watson Headache Institute.

The Watson Headache Institute was

established to increase the awareness of cervicogenic (neck) disorders in

headache and migraine by imparting my (and that of others) clinical experience

and knowledge; to present and discuss past and present relevant research and to

undertake and support rigorous clinical and scientific research in this

specialty.

Appropriate and up-to-date knowledge is

self-empowering; I believe that every headache sufferer has the right to know

their headache diagnosis as precisely as possible (and what it means), to know

the nature of their headache disorder, its outcome and possible types of

treatment.

What has yet to gain acceptance is my

(and that of others) belief, supported by my unparalleled clinical experience

and a significant body of international research, that it is incorrect to

consider headache and migraine types as totally different entities and that

cervicogenic (neck) disorders can be instrumental in the headache and migraine

process.

Although Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and

Osteopathy are different disciplines, we are supporters of the idea that

headache and migraine sufferers, no matter what their diagnoses, can be helped

to live their lives more effectively through appropriate neck treatment.

However, because treatment of the neck does not fit the medical model of

headache and migraine, the model has demonstrated little interest in exploring

this as an option. It is essential that all factors, which have the potential

to sensitise the brainstem, be investigated equally.  Currently this is not the situation – the

neck is largely disregarded.

So, whilst YourHeadacheSolutions.com is

also about Education, it is also a directory for headache and migraine

sufferers to source practitioners who have a particular interest in and are

skilled in examination of the neck as a source of your headache or migraine –

to create a more comprehensive approach and provide an alternative,

medication-free treatment.