WHAT CAN BE DONE AGAINST MIGRAINE AND HEADACHE (CEPHALALGIA)?

In its various forms, cephalalgia, also commonly known as headache, is one of the commonest ailments. If only occasionally, every one of us has certainly already experienced it at least once in our lives. For 15-20% of the population, of which 2-4% are children, headache is not an occasional ailment but has become a constant if unwelcome companion which makes regular return visits on a chronic basis, despite all attempts to break free from it; indeed, many people call it “my headache”. The maximum incidence of headache is reached between the ages of 35 and 45. Women suffer from it 3 times more commonly than men. Cephalalgia has a psychological/emotional component and a physical component, identified in an alteration of the blood flow to and from the cranium. Other determining factors are poor liver function, excessive intoxication of the intestine and the body in general (toxaemia), acidosis, or an excessively low bodily pH. The psychological/emotional component associated in the literature with cephalalgia can be summarised as follows: constant anxiety or fear, difficulty in “abandoning oneself” or “letting go”, fear of “losing one’s head”, always being “on the qui vive”; tendency to think too much, attempting to control every situation; unforeseen events and unexpected encounters are sources of stress; tendency to programme everything; tendency to take on great responsibilities even if it damages one’s own peace of mind; tendency to be perfectionist and hypercritical.

The difference between migraine and headache resides in the fact that migraine affects one side of the head, while ordinary headache is generalised through the whole of the skull. In the medical literature, cephalalgia is subdivided as follows:

Tensive headache or tension cephalalgia is the commonest form, accounting for approximately 70% of all cases of cephalalgia.

The remaining 30% are divided into:

Common migraine (without aura): approximately 85% of migraine cases. Characterised by nausea, with or without vomiting. The attack may be violent or throbbing, or dull and constant like a “a weight of many kilos on the head”. The pain is exacerbated by movement, coughing, sneezing, exertion and light. The sufferer generally prefers to remain immobile, lying down in the dark and away from any noise. The duration can range from a few hours to three days. There are generally no warning signs, and the pain appears on one side of the head before quickly radiating through the rest of the body.

Classical migraine (with aura): approximately 14% of migraine cases. Differs from common migraine in that it is associated with premonitory disturbances such as hypersensitivity to light and/or sound, darkening of one side of the field of vision, scintillating lines and “floaters”. The duration ranges from 4 to 24 hours.

Cluster cephalalgia (migraine neuralgia): approximately 1% of cephalalgia cases. Characterised by great intensity, this is extremely incapacitating, with a sudden onset. It is generally localised around one eye or temple, and normally lasts only a few minutes but may recur 10 times or more over the next 24 hours. This is why it is known as cluster cephalalgia. It afflicts men far more commonly than women. The pain of cluster cephalalgia can be so intense that the affected person wants to bang their head against the wall, or even commit suicide.

A high percentage of treated patients report a reduction or disappearance of both migraine and common headache.

This result appears to be attributable to two principal reasons:

improved circulation, with a consequent better supply of blood and therefore oxygen to the brain. The Atlas, once positioned correctly, no longer interferes with the flow of blood into and out of the cranium, a fact which also certainly brings benefits for the heart and the circulation in general. Thanks to the improvement in circulation, the problem of “cold” hands or feet is also often spontaneously resolved.

substantial reduction in muscular contractions in the cervical areas and the shoulders, bringing significant benefits particularly for tension cephalalgia.

elimination of the bottleneck that compresses and irritates the cranial nerves in the vicinity of the Atlas.

After treatment, many people report that they no longer have that sensation of pressure in the head, and that they feel a sense of liberation.

An extremely important consequence of a misaligned first cervical vertebra is the pressure exerted on the internal carotid artery by a lateral apophysis of the Atlas, as well as a crushing of the cervical artery. The lateral apophysis of the Atlas is simultaneously traversed by the cervical artery and 3 veins, responsible for supplying blood to the posterior part of the cranium.

1) vertebral artery  2) compressed vertebral artery

This crushing may cause problems of either inflow or outflow, depending on where the Atlas compresses. This explains the feeling of pressure in the cranium, the pallor and the throbbing sensation. The blood enters the cranium but finds it difficult to flow out of it, thus creating a pressure, or it finds it difficult to flow into the cranium and therefore probably results in a shortage of oxygen. The alteration of the blood flow produces a temporary alteration in the functioning of the nerve cells that may last for a few hours or whole days. The situation becomes precarious whenever other factors are added which further compromise the situation, and a migraine attack may be triggered. Stress, overwork, anxiety and nervousness accentuate and potentiate the cephalalgia by encouraging the contraction of the muscles at the base of the cranium. This shift of the Atlas may create a migraine in one person but not in another, owing to anatomical differences: dimensions of the Atlas, available space between the various anatomical elements, sensitivity to triggering factors, degree of muscular contraction, state of intoxication of the liver and intestine, and most importantly the emotional state described earlier.

This animation shows the misaligned Atlas pressing onto the carotid artery (red), the Vagus nerve (yellow) and the internal jugular vein (blue).

blue: Vena jugularis interna   yellow: Nervus vagus   red: Arteria carotis interna 

Hormonal changes
Stress
Lack of sleep
Illness
Anomalous dental occlusion (malocclusion)
Subluxation of any vertebra
Rapid change in meteorological conditions (atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity)
Polluted or conditioned air
Allergies to certain foods (food intolerances)
Alcohol, chocolate, cheese, monosodium glutamate (E621)

When these or other factors accumulate and rise above a certain threshold, a migraine attack is triggered. The various triggering factors are not constant, and may even change in importance during the course of a person’s life. Examples of this are the hormonal changes caused by the menopause or pregnancy, which in some cases stop or reduce the occurrence of migraine attacks.

  

It is always satisfying for an Atlastechnician to hear the stories of people who have been given lasting release from their pains.

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