Understanding Migraine Headaches

When you say you have a headache, technically speaking, it isn't your head that?s hurting. Did you know brain tissues and skull bones don?t have the nerve fibers that are sensitive to pain and therefore can?t generate the sensation of pain? So why does your head hurt with a migraine?

Migraine headaches have something to do with the blood vessels, that is why they are called vascular headaches. When you are experiencing migraine, your temporal artery is enlarged, which is located just under the skin at your temple. When this happens, it makes the tiny nerve fibers twisted around it to release chemicals.

The chemicals released cause pain, inflammation, and further enlargement of the temporal artery. The greater the swelling, the worse your pain becomes. So why does this artery enlarge to the point of causing severe pain?

The answer may lie in another naturally occurring chemical in the body. There are two major neurotransmitters in the brain that control blood vessel size, and one of them is Serotonin. Studies have shown that before a migraine occurs, there is a high level of serotonin. During the migraine, its level drops to an abnormally low level.

While the actual cause of migraines remains a mystery, researchers are looking at a genetic predisposition, since migraine sufferers tend to run in families. They?re hoping to find a definitive answer in the near future.

Not only are the migraine sufferers the only ones impacted by this incapacitating headache. The American Academy of Pain Medicine said that approximately 150 million workdays are lost each year because of this. This translates to an annual cost to businesses of 5-17 billion dollars.

Everyone is affected by this debilitating headache, not just the sufferers. The missed work and productivity lost is becoming a significant burden to the general public. Migraine headaches are suffered by 28 million people in this country, and females are the ones more often to get them, although men suffer them too.

The problem persists because migraines remain under diagnosed and often untreated. Doctors miss the diagnosis of migraine headaches in more than half the people who have them. Too often, when treatment is prescribed, it isn't effective.

One reason why treatments are not effective is that most doctors prescribe pills for the headache. The problem with pills is that migraines usually stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, the one that controls the ‘fight or flight mechanisms in the body.

When the sympathetic nervous system is activated, it postpones the emptying of stomach contents into the small intestine, preventing any absorption into your system. So instead of getting broken down and absorbed, the pills just sit in your stomach.

There is another solution though. The Migraine and Headache Relief program is a simple to use program that?s given thousands of migraine sufferers amazing results. It doesn't require the body to be able to absorb or process anything during the stressful time of a migraine attack.

The Migraine and Headache Relief Program requires several simple exercises that takes only a few minutes a day to do. It effectively reduces and in many cases completely eliminates the threat of migraines. Use the program and reclaim your life!

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