Everyone gets headaches from time to time. However, if you have a pounding, throbbing headache accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound that lasts several hours to a few days, you likely have a migraine.
Migraine is one of the most prevalent health conditions in the world and is more common among young female adults.
It is also one of the most painful neurologic disorders you can suffer from, that you have to seek migraine treatment in Dubai immediately once you experience it.
Aside from the strong headache, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound, migraine can be accompanied by other symptoms, including the following:
- Blurred vision
- Dizziness
- Loss of appetite
- Tenderness of the scalp
- Sweating or feeling very warm
- Chills
- Feeling tired
- Pallor or looking pale.
Although the exact causes of migraines have not been established yet, certain triggers are known to induce the symptoms.
These common triggers include:
- Foods, such as food additives (nitrates and monosodium glutamate) and alcohol.
- Hormone changes during pregnancy or ovulation.
- Medications, particularly vasodilators.
- Weather changes, including fluctuations in barometric pressure and strong winds.
- Flashing lights, deafening noises, and strong smells.
Stress, changes to your sleeping habits, and skipping meals can also trigger a migraine episode.
Managing Your Migraine Symptoms
When you get a migraine diagnosis, you will likely be prescribed medications to relieve and prevent the symptoms. You can also buy over-the-counter medicines to alleviate the pain you feel.
However, you don’t have to limit your treatment to medicines. You can consider a drug-free and non-invasive effective option: neurofeedback therapy.
Neurofeedback is a non-invasive therapy that involves measuring and training brain activity or brainwaves.
During a neurofeedback or brain training session, electroencephalogram or EEG sensors will be attached to your temples to measure and record your brain activities as you watch a TV show or movie or play a video game you like.
While doing this, the screen size and the audio quality will change based on your brainwaves; they will improve when healthy brain impulses are detected.
As you continue undergoing therapy, your brain will learn new brainwave patterns and regulate these activities better on its own.
Brain training can be used to help individuals of all ages, including children and teens who wish to sharpen their memory and improve their learning skills.
Neurofeedback therapy can help stabilize your cerebral cortex’s excitability for migraine symptom management. This can result in reduced headaches and sensory sensitivity and improvements in your other symptoms.
If you suffer from frequent migraines, below are the specific reasons why you should consider getting neurofeedback therapy:
1. Scientific evidence shows brain training reduces migraine symptoms.
Different studies have been conducted to show the effectiveness of neurofeedback training in helping patients with migraine reduce their symptoms.
One study conducted in 2011 compared two groups of patients with recurring migraine headaches and their preferred treatment.
One group chose drug therapy, while the other chose to undergo neurofeedback therapy using quantitative electroencephalogram or QEEG.
54% of the subjects who underwent brain training said they experienced complete elimination of their migraines, while 39% reported a substantial decrease in migraine frequency.
Out of all the subjects who received drug therapy, 68% reported they experienced no reduction in headache frequency, while 20% said their symptoms decreased by less than 50%.
Overall, this study showed neurofeedback is more effective in eliminating and reducing the frequency and severity of headaches in patients with recurrent migraine.
Another study conducted in 2014 evaluated the efficacy of neurofeedback using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or TENS in treating migraine headaches in healthcare providers.
The results showed that the subjects who received neurofeedback therapy experienced reduced severity, duration, and frequency of headaches.
These studies and more not mentioned here provide evidence that neurofeedback therapy can help you keep your migraine symptoms in check.
2. Neurofeedback therapy is safer than taking medications.
Most people suffering from migraines often take over-the-counter or OTC painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines to alleviate the symptoms.
These medicines include aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.
However, if you are under 19, you should not take aspirin to reduce migraine symptoms since you risk getting Reye’s syndrome.
If you are over 19, relying on unprescribed OTC pain relievers is still unwise since you might get rebound headaches or become dependent on them.
When you undergo neurofeedback training, you won’t need to take any drugs to experience pain relief and reduce your migraine symptoms.
It is a medication-free treatment that won’t put you at risk of any side effects caused by taking drugs.
3. Neurofeedback treatment provides lasting results.
Medications for migraine usually only work when you are taking them. When you stop, the symptoms will return.
This is not the case with neurofeedback therapy.
Since this therapy trains the brain to self-regulate and make permanent corrections, you can experience long-term relief from headaches and other migraine symptoms.
Moreover, neurofeedback treatment can help you correct or manage the triggers that cause your migraines, such as stress and lack of sleep. As such, you are more likely to stop experiencing headaches and other symptoms.
With the help of your health practitioner, making some lifestyle changes, and undergoing neurofeedback therapy, you can manage and control your migraine symptoms and avoid the discomfort and inconveniences that come with this condition.
AUTHOR’S BIO:
Dr. Upasana Gala is the founder and CEO of Evolve Brain Training, an award-winning neurofeedback-centered institute that focuses on using non-invasive brain training techniques to maximize the brain’s true potential. Earning a doctorate in Neuroscience from the revered Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Gala has spent over a decade trying to unravel how neurochemical and neurophysiological changes in the brain affect how we interact with the world. Her goal is to share her knowledge, encourage others to tap into and expand their brain’s capabilities, and dispel any myths surrounding our most complex organ.
