Schedule A Free Chiropractic Consultation Today!
Migraine Headaches
Migraine headaches can be classified in two categories: classical and common. The classical migraine is a headache that follows an aura or some type of spontaneous event such as numbness and tingling, which is called a “prodrome” phase. The aura may be flashes of light, squiggly lines, or a halo effect. The common migraine does not have an aura associated with it. Most migraine headache sufferers suffer from common migraines, usually at a 3:1 ratio of classical to common. Approximately 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, and millions go without treatment. Scientists once thought that migraines were caused by an abnormally dilated, or enlarged blood vessel. New imaging devices have allowed them to observe the brain during migraine attacks, and scientists are discovering that migraine sufferers have abnormally excitable neurons, or brain nerve cells.
The latest research concerning migraine headaches is a mechanism called cortical spreading depression, or CSD. Prior to the onset of the pain of a migraine, researchers have observed a sudden burst of cortical migraine; researchers have observed a sudden burst of cortical activity that that occurs most commonly in the occipital lobes (back part of the brain). The occipital lobe will increase in the frequency of firing, or have a burst of activity; then it will have an episode of silence or depressed activity. The actual activity of the brain becomes depressed when compared to normal. The resulting pain comes from activation of the upper brainstem, or mesencephalon, which causes the blood vessels in the brain to become inflamed and then constrict very rapidly. An over firing mesencephalon is also the reason why many patients experience an aura, whether it is a halo, squiggly lines, or some other type of visual disturbance.
Migraine Headaches
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are different than migraines but both are caused by an overactive mesencephalon. Many cluster headache sufferers may experience multiple headaches in a day. They come with strong intense pain. Some patient’s eyes will water and run and their nose will be stopped up on one side or the other. When you slow down the over active mesencephalon these patients headaches subside.
We have treated hundreds of migraine and cluster headache patients. They are prescribed a litany of medications, including Imitrex (sumatriptan), Topamax (topiramate), and even anti-seizure medications such as Klonopin (clonazepan). It’s a Russian roulette of drug therapy. If this medication doesn’t work, perhaps this one will. If that medication doesn’t work, we’ll try another. It’s a revolving door, yet the patient continues to suffer.
We have found many cases where the medication benefits the patient initially, only to “wear off” over time. Initially, the medication fails and the symptoms return. His theory is that the brain habituates or “gets uses to” the drug. The medication is a stimuli and the brain habituates to all stimuli.
As a Brain Based Chiropractor; Dr. Nesterenko takes a different approach to the treatment and prevention of migraines. After a thorough neurological examination, he determines which part of the nervous system is not functioning properly. After twenty years in practice, Dr. Nesterenko observed that almost all of his migraine patients have a high mesencephalic output.
As stated earlier, there three parts of the brainstem: the top, middle, and lower (ponto-medullary), which slows down the upper brainstem (mescephalon). This is called the neo-cortical-thalamo-hypothalamo-ponto-medullary reticular activation system. In migraine and cluster headache patients, this reticular activating system fails, allowing the mesencephalon to fire at a very high rate.
Activation of the mesencephalon will cause an increase in pulse and heart rate, and the mesencephalon reticular activating system, the area within the mesencephalon that controls sleep patterns, will cause an inability to sleep. The patient may experience increased warmth, increased sweating, and sensitivity to light. This light sensitivity forces migraine sufferers to retreat into a dark room during a migraine. A migraine sufferer is light sensitive because the pupil fails to constrict, due to a decreased firing of the third cranial nerve. The origin of the third cranial nerve is located in the mesencephalon. Other symptoms associated with a high mesencephalic output may include urinary tract infections. When a patient is unable to completely void the urine, a bacterial infection will result; this another problem caused by an overactive mesencephalon.
In just about every migraine case, we notice a condition in which the eye rotates into the midline when following a pencil toward the nose, then bounces out. This condition is called an exophoria. Our personal observation is that with migraine patients, it is usually a 2:1 ratio that the left eye is exophoric as compared to the right.
Dr. Nesterenko's purpose as a Brain Based Chiropractor is to slow the mesencepholon, or upper brainstem. Once he has inhibited, or slowed, the mesencephalic output, the migraine and cluster headaches usually disappear.
Cluster Headaches