Drawing on clinical and research data, Zuzana Bic shows readers how to fight chronic headaches without enduring the side effects of medications. She describes different types of headaches, outlines their causes, and details her revolutionary approach to quashing them through diet modification, exercise, and stress reduction.
The brain is the most complex organ in our body. Indeed, it is perhaps the most complex structure we have ever encountered in nature. Both structurally and functionally, there are many peculiarities that differentiate the brain from all other organs. The brain is our connection to the world around us and by governing nervous system and higher function, any disturbance induces severe neurological and psychiatric disorders that can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the brain has improved dramatically in the last two decades. In particular, the critical role of cations, including magnesium, has become evident, even if incompletely understood at a mechanistic level. The exact role and regulation of magnesium, in particular, remains elusive, largely because intracellular levels are so difficult to routinely quantify. Nonetheless, the importance of magnesium to normal central nervous system activity is self-evident given the complicated homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the concentration of this cation within strict limits essential for normal physiology and metabolism. There is also considerable accumulating evidence to suggest alterations to some brain functions in both normal and pathological conditions may be linked to alterations in local magnesium concentration. This book, containing chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field of magnesium research, brings together the latest in experimental and clinical magnesium research as it relates to the central nervous system. It offers a complete and updated view of magnesiums involvement in central nervous system function and in so doing, brings together two main pillars of contemporary neuroscience research, namely providing an explanation for the molecular mechanisms involved in brain function, and emphasizing the connections between the molecular changes and behavior. It is the untiring efforts of those magnesium researchers who have dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of magnesiums role in biological systems that has inspired the collation of this volume of work.
Fifteen specialists serve as chapter authors, covering sex hormones and genetics, as well as the social, cultural, psychiatric, and psychological factors that contribute to headache disorders. Their approach is evidence-based, but where there are gaps in research, the authors provide advice based on expert consensus and clinical experience. Each chapter opens with a case report that synthesizes the chapter's treatment recommendations, as well as key points listing the chapter's contents. The main body of the chapter features an introductory overview, a closing summary, tables, and an extensive list of suggestive reading.
M. WILKINSON Patients with frequent or daily headaches pose a very difficult problem for the physician who has to treat them, particularly as many patients think that there should be a medicine or medicines which give them instant relief. In the search for the compound which would meet this very natural desire, many drugs have been manufactured and the temptation for the physician is either to increase the dose of a drug which seems to be, at any rate, partially effective, or to add one or more drugs to those which the patient is already taking. Although there have been some references to the dangers of overdosage of drugs for migraine in the past, it was not until relatively recently that it was recognized that drugs given for the relief of headache, if taken injudiciously, may themselves cause headache. The first drugs to be implicated in this way were ergotamine and phenazone. In the case of ergotamine tartrate, the dangers of ergotism were well known as this was a disorder which had been known and written about for many years. In the treatment of headache, fully blown ergotism is rare and in recent years has usually been due to self-medication in doses much greater than those prescribed although there are a few recorded cases where toxic amounts have been given.
There are two crucial issues in the treatment and management of headache patients: More than 50% of individuals experiencing headache have only been treated symptomatically, with no appropriate diagnosis established; and history and neurologic examination are essential to establishing a diagnosis, and thus selecting appropriate therapy. Headache and Migraine Biology and Management is a practical text that addresses these issues, featuring contributions from expert clinical authors. The book covers in detail topics including chronic and episodic migraine, post-traumatic headache, sinus headache, cluster headache, tension headache, and others. Chapters are also dedicated to treatment subjects, including psychiatric and psychological approaches, medication overuse, inpatient treatment, and pediatric issues. This book is an ideal resource for researchers and clinicians, uniting practical discussion of headache biology, current ideas on etiology, future research, and genetic significance and breakthroughs. This resource is useful to those who want to understand headache biology, treat and manage symptoms, and for those performing research in the headache field. - A practical discussion of headache biology, current ideas on etiology, future research, and genetic significance and breakthroughs - Features chapters from leading physicians and researchers in headache medicine - Full-color text that includes both an overview of multiple disciplines and discusses the measures that can be used to treat headaches
As many as "45 million" Americans have chronic and severe headaches--and they're desperate for practical, clearly explained help and answers. Physical therapist Lisa Morrone extends hope. Nearly 20 years of teaching, research, and treating patients have given her a comprehensive, multidisciplinary perspective. Headache/migraine sufferers don't have to resign themselves to being pill-popping victims. Rather, they can achieve lasting changes by discovering how to... uncover the "sources" of head pain and avoid unnecessary medication eliminate pain originating from neck dysfunction or muscle tension ward off migraines and cluster headaches by pinpointing and avoiding "triggers" decide whether self-treatment, treatment by a practitioner, or a combination is best loosen the traps of stress, anger, and emotional/spiritual bondage that clamp down with head pain This multifaceted resource combines effective habits, exercises, and lifestyle adjustments to end head-pain disability and give readers back a life to enjoy and share.
Draws on the latest scientific findings to identify the unique characteristics, chemical makeups, and structural differences of migraine-prone brains, offering insight into the role of the central nervous system while outlining a comprehensive program to reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. Reprint.
Both husbands and wives can be extremely frustrated by the differences in sexual needs and expectations between them. This frustration manifests itself as fighting, resentment, feelings of either guilt or rejection, and general marital strife. There are few safe and appropriate places to ask the questions about sex that frustrate and confuse women most. In No More Headaches, Juli Slattery provides that place with honest answers that target women’s specific needs. Her warm and compassionate style come through as she examines the underlying issues that prevent couples from having a satisfying sex life. Helping husbands and wives understand and address the sexual relationship with their spouse will improve the marriage by reducing stress and frustration in that area, which will reduce stress in other areas of marriage as well. Each chapter contains questions for reflection and questions for couples to discuss. Juli Slattery has extensive experience speaking to women about marriage, parenting, and family issues at retreats and conferences as well as on television and radio.
Based on the breakthrough understanding that virtually all headaches are forms of migraine--because migraine is not a specific type of headache, but the built-in mechanism that causes headaches of all kinds, along with neck stiffness, sinus congestion, dizziness, and other problems--Dr. Buchholz's Heal Your Headache puts headache sufferers back in control of their lives with a simple, transforming program: Step 1: Avoid the "Quick Fix." Too often painkillers only make matters worse because of the crippling complication known as rebound. Step 2: Reduce Your Triggers. The crux of the program: a migraine diet that eliminates the foods that push headache sufferers over the top. Step 3: Raise Your Threshold. When diet and other lifestyle changes aren't enough, preventive medication can help stay the course. That's it: in three steps turn your headache problems around.