Headaches require early therapy

24/06/2011

On the occasion of the since Thursday World Headache Congress in Berlin, 1,200 experts have informed about the causes and new methods for the treatment of headaches. The growing prevalence of various forms of headache was one of the main topics. In addition, the doctors warned for early treatment, otherwise the risk of chronic headache massively increase.

About 80 percent of the population regularly suffer from headaches, and more and more children and adolescents are already affected, the statement of experts such as Professor Andreas Straube of the University of Munich in the context of the World Headache Congress. In the past 40 years, the number of young headache patients has increased approximately fourfold, 80 percent of students today have recurrent headaches, the experts report. According to the experts, treatment should be started as soon as possible after the onset of headache to avoid the onset of a chronic headache. The problem: headaches can be caused by a variety of causes, which makes the search for the reasons for the occurrence of pain and the selection of a suitable treatment method considerably more difficult.

Many children and teenagers suffer from headaches
Since headaches are also a widespread affliction among adolescents, according to Professor Andreas Straube at the World Headache Congress "the prevention of headaches should start at school". A Norwegian study has clearly shown that the risk of various forms of chronic headache can be significantly reduced at school with the help of relatively simple and short-lived educational programs, emphasized Professor Straube. The expert is currently planning a study in Munich grammar schools to prove the effects of educational programs. Among other things, these programs inform students about the relationship between diet, physical activity and the rhythm of life with the onset of headaches. In addition, the effects of mental stress and potential stress-avoidance strategies are at the forefront of the educational programs, Straube explained. The expert also pointed out that listening to music via the MP3 player is also rated as stress and "anyone who listens to MP3 players for more than one hour has a higher headache risk". In addition, it is known that physical activity and sports as well as a healthy diet can significantly reduce the risk of headache.

Pain perception in headache patients changed in general
In addition to the general warnings for early treatment and better prevention of headaches, the experts at the World Headache Congress also presented the results of recent studies that show an overall altered pain perception of patients with chronic headache. According to Professor Hans-Christoph Diener of the University Hospital Essen, the central processing systems are "dysregulated" in headache patients, which causes hypersensitivity or hyperexcitability. These manifest themselves, for example, in a special sensitivity of the skin, which already perceives light touch as pain, reported Prof. Hans-Christoph Diener. In addition, the experts informed about the particularly serious types of headache, such as migraine, which affects about ten percent of the population in Germany, or cluster headache, recurring massive episodes of pain from twenty to 180 minutes, those affected often to the brink of unconsciousness float. Prof. Hans-Christoph Diener also referred to the new treatment methods currently being tested for migraine and cluster headaches. For example, with the help of Botox syringes, significant successes in migraine treatment have been achieved, and for cluster headache patients, a stimulator is currently being tested that is implanted in the patient's maxilla by stimulating the nerve bundles to avoid cluster headaches should contribute.

Treatment of headaches in naturopathy
In natural medicine, various methods are used for the treatment of headaches, with the focus in the context of amnesis before all an intense search for the causes of headache in the foreground in order to then be able to initiate appropriate therapeutic measures. The throbbing, throbbing, pulsating symptoms of migraine often accompanied by nausea, tinnitus, vomiting or photosensitivity can be treated relatively efficiently, for example, using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), according to a study published in April by the TCM Clinic Steigerwald. Over 70 percent of migraine patients described a clear relief of their symptoms after leaving the clinic, reported the head of the TCM clinic at Steigerwal, Dr. med. Christian Schmincke, at the presentation of the study. "Because headaches have multiple causes, comprehensive diagnostics are in the focus of Chinese medicine," Dr. Christian Schmincke continues. TCM sees a "causal relationship" between the abdomen and headaches because "millions of pieces of information about a large bundle of nerves go from the stomach to the head every day". Schmincke, underscoring the importance of nutrition in the treatment of headache.

In addition, acupuncture and moxibustion play an essential role in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In addition, Qi Gong exercise and tension-relieving Tuina massages are often used to support headache treatment, explained the head of the TCM clinic. From analgesic intake to headache treatment, Dr. Schmincke, on the other hand, insists: "To heal an illness, it is of no use if symptoms are suppressed." The treating therapists should rather use the symptoms to get to the root of the disease, because the goal must be "freedom from symptoms without medication "Said the expert. (Fp)

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