A migraine is a common disabling headache disorder that affects millions of lives.
In a recent study done by the Global Burden of Disease Survey 2010, migraines ranked as the third most prevalent disorder and seventh-highest specific cause of disability worldwide. Migraines have an impact on lifestyle, occupations, and quality of life. It is a disabling condition that must be treated with absolute haste to abort the headache as quickly as possible.
There are two main types of migraine headaches; migraine with aura and without aura. Migraine with aura is characterized by the transient focal neurological symptoms that usually precede or accompany the headache. The aura can be visual symptoms, sensory findings such as numbness or tingling on one side of the face or head, and speech disturbances. To technically diagnose a migraine with aura, a patient must have at least one of the following fully reversible aura symptoms; visual, sensory, speech/language, motor, brainstem, and retinal symptoms. The most common aura is visual symptoms occurring 90% of time. Migraines with aura also contain premonitory symptoms that may begin hours or a day or two before the onset of the headache which may include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, neck stiffness, and sensitivity to light or sound. Migraine with aura might be the better known classification of migraine headaches but it occurs far less than migraines without aura.
Migraines without aura are a recurrent headache disorder that can last from four to seventy-two hours. The typical characteristics are; unilateral location, pulsating quality, moderate or severe intensity, aggravation by routine physical activity and association with nausea and/or light/sound irritation. When considering those symptoms and considering the duration can be up to seventy-two hours, there is an absolute need for treatment. Treatment must entail preventive measures, abortive measures, lifestyle changes, and sometimes even procedures.
At Prairie Spine & Pain Institute we are proud to announce the launch of a new headache clinic. For thousands of patients, headaches are a debilitating condition that affects everyday life in more ways than one. Patients have to deal with the pain, disruptive daily habits, and certainly the financial burden of headaches. According to a recent national survey by Louis Harris & Associates, adults with full time jobs lost nearly 157 million work days due to headaches. Headaches are consistently ignored as serious conditions. We have decided to open our doors, to offer a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to treating headaches. Treatment options are custom for the patient and their specific needs. Effectiveness is constantly being monitored to adjust treatment plans if needed.
We use medications, procedures, lifestyle changes, and educational training to treat headaches. It’s a well-rounded effective approach to putting the patient in control of their headaches and not the other way around. We are thrilled to offer a solution for patients who deal with headaches instead of eliminating them. Our philosophy focuses on reducing the frequency of your headaches, treating them faster when they do occur, and reducing the magnitude of the headaches when they are severe. Call us today to set up an appointment and take control of your headaches.
About The Author: Derek N. Morrow, PA-C is a physician assistant with Prairie Spine and Pain Institute. Derek works in the clinic setting as a health care provider seeing patients. He is also utilized in the operating room as a first assist in surgery. In the clinic setting, his key function is to diagnose new patients and conduct their initial treatment. He works directly with patients to establish customized treatment programs and to monitor their progress. He also conducts history and physical evaluations for many patients. He performs many office procedures including trigger point injections, large joint injections, and bursa injections, all with the help of ultrasound guidance. He is radiologically trained, and uses his knowledge of X-ray, Ultrasound, MRI, CT, and EMG-Nerve Conduction Studies to establish a diagnosis and determine the appropriate treatment. Derek is surgically trained and plays a vital role in the procedures we perform at Prairie Spine and Pain Institute.