Migraine is a debilitating
condition for its sufferers. It’s costly in terms of
pain, money, and pharmacological use need. Drugs are still
the “gold standard” of care. Patients often ask their
migraine healthcare providers for non-drug options.
Oxford migraine sufferers want choices!
Satterwhite Chiropractic suggests that exercise may be one
such beneficial alternative.
EXERCISE FOR CHRONIC PAIN
Migraine is, for most Oxford migraine sufferers,
a chronic pain condition. It is not typically a one
time condition. Chronic pain disturbs
the nervous system and the specific pain-generator. Researchers explained evidence that exercise helps a
variety of chronic pain conditions including migraine directly and indirectly
with a goal of changing the cycle of pain,
sedentariness, and degenerating disability. These
changes do not emerge overnight. They come with
long-term, regular, individualized exercise bringing about improvement in pain and function. (1) Satterwhite Chiropractic reminds
our Oxford 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 an easy, low-cost approach to migraine care. For
example, a new comparison study of
neck-specific exercise versus sham ultrasound to reduce
the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. (2) A recent meta-analysis
in Headache reported that aerobic exercise for migraine patients
decreased the number of migraine days. (3) These are valuable
outcomes for Oxford migraine treatment.
EXERCISE BENEFITS: Overall and Migraine Specific
Oxford chiropractic patients are often
encouraged 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 certainly affects
a certain type of cortical spreading depression. Migraine specifically, exercise benefited 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 Oxford
migraine sufferers! Of course, higher intensity exercise seems
to allow 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) Satterwhite Chiropractic concurs
with the researchers’ bottom-line: exercise is a reasonable
evidence-based recommendation for migraine prevention.
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
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 appreciated relief by his patient.