for Headache Treatment

Integrating Complementary
and Alternative Medicine with
Headache Care
Individuals with disabling headaches have usually
inherited a nervous system that is highly sensitive
to changes in the environment, both internal and
external. Headache disorders, then, are neurological
phenomena that are part of a person’s biochemical
make-up. The key to managing these headaches is
learning to live successfully with your nervous system.
To do so, you need to understand the role of lifestyle
issues, such as diet, exercise, biofeedback and relaxation,
and the importance of being kind to yourself
between headache attacks. Because most individuals
experiencing attacks of disabling headaches are not
under the care of a medical professional, self-management
strategies are paramount to balance this highly
sensitive nervous system.
The first step to headache management is recognizing
the migraine threshold, which is the balance between
the demands on an individual’s nervous system and
the physiological resources available to meet those
demands. The migraine threshold is, in essence, a
measure of the body’s vulnerability to an attack of
migraine. Individuals who do not suffer disabling
headaches have a high migraine threshold whereas
those with a predisposition to migraine have a low
threshold. The good news is that certain behaviors and
activities can raise the threshold even in those who
have a predisposition to migraine headaches.
The first step in determining your threshold is maintaining
a headache diary, similar to the example at the
end of this booklet. The diary can help you identify
risk factors for an attack, such as lack of sleep, stress
due to pressing deadlines, changes in weather and/or
barometric pressure, or specific foods. Once these
triggers are identified, you can use specific behaviors
to protect your nervous system to prevent an attack.
For example, behavior modifications may offer relief
such as maintaining a sleep routine by going to bed
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