One out of every 7 Americans suffers from severe headaches and migraines.
Primary headaches originate in the nerves, blood vessels, or muscles of your head and neck.
A secondary headache is caused by another medical condition, such as a cervicogenic headache, a concussion, or sinus infection.
Many aspects of daily life lead to headaches. An unhealthy diet, alcohol, lack of sleep, and poor posture are only a few lifestyle issues that often cause headaches.
Headache symptoms can vary in frequency and duration. They could be limited to one localized area or affect both sides of your head.
Integrative Medicine treatment options of lifestyle, mind/body, acupuncture, and dietary supplements can provide benefit in addition to or instead of traditional headache treatment options.
The types of headaches frequently treated by Dr. Prywes include
Cervicogenic headaches
Cervicogenic headache is referred pain perceived in the head from a source in the neck. Myofascial trigger points can refer pain to the head and face in the cervical region, contributing to cervicogenic headache. When identified properly, myofascial pain is a treatable component of headaches, amenable to trigger point injections, Medical Acupuncture, Manual Therapy, and Physical Therapy.
Tension headaches
Tension headaches often cause tense, tender spots on the scalp, neck, and shoulder muscles. They typically cause a dull pain and the feeling of pressure across your forehead. These headaches are also amenable to Medical Acupuncture, Manual Therapy, and Physical Therapy, in addition to mind/body stress reduction management
Sinus headaches
Sinus headaches are well-known for pressure and pain around the sinuses. When an infection causes mucus to build up in your sinuses, pressure builds and leads to a headache accompanied by nasal congestion and a runny nose. Medical Acupuncture, diet modification, dietary supplements, and medications can provide relief.
Post-concussion headaches
Post-concussion headaches affect 47-95% of patients with a concussion, causing headaches that last for weeks or months after the concussion heals.
A post-concussion headache often resembles tension or migraine headaches.
Migraines
Migraines often begin as a dull ache that worsens into an intense pain that can last several hours and could persist for days. These headaches are triggered by something in the external or internal environment, such as stress, fatigue, lack of sleep, foods, or caffeine.
Migraines cause intense, throbbing pain that’s worse with movement. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, and sensitivity to lights, sounds, and smells.
Stress has consistently been reported as the most common trigger for migraines. Several behavioral treatments for migraine prevention have been used widely as independent therapies or combined with pharmacological therapy. The behavioral interventions of cognitive behavioral therapy (stress-management training), relaxation training, and biofeedback with relaxation, have well documented evidence for their benefit.
Acupuncture has been shown to reduce migraine frequency more significantly than pharmaceutical prophylaxis.
Severe intractable migraines may require evaluation by a neurologist for migraine medications. If medications are not well tolerated, or do not provide sustained pain relief, Medical Cannabis may provide a reduction in migraine headache frequency