headache

Five Tips For Alleviating Chronic Headaches

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

headachesA headache can ruin your day and affect your mood. Even if your headaches are only presenting with dull soreness or pressure, these symptoms can make every day a challenge. Headaches can seem difficult to treat because their cause isn’t as obvious as a condition like a broken arm or a herniated spinal disc, which is why it’s important to know a few different helpful ways to alleviate your headaches. In today’s blog, we focus on five of them.

How To Reduce Headache Symptoms And Frequency

Here’s a look at a few different conservative methods for reducing headache symptoms or preventing their onset:

1. Staying Hydrated – A number of different health issues can be caused or exacerbated by being dehydrated, and headaches are one of them. Dehydration can lead to muscle tension or cramping in facial muscles that can contribute to tension headaches.

2. Exercise – Daily exercise helps to improve circulation, which can ward off headache onset. Strive to become more active, and you may find that your headaches are fewer and farther between.

3. The Daith Piercing – As we’ve talked about numerous times on the blog in the past, the Daith piercing is a low-cost option that may help provide headache relief. You can learn more about the piercing itself and why researchers believe it may prove beneficial by taking a look at some of our blogs on the subject.

4. Yoga and Meditation – Yoga, meditation and other mindfulness techniques can all help improve blood flow, which as we talked about in the exercise section, can help to relieve headache symptom and prevent their onset. Additionally, yoga and meditation can help a person reduce their stress and anxiety levels, which are also closely related to headache onset. If yoga and meditation aren’t for you, find some other ways to manage stress in your life.

5. Consult With A Specialist – Finally, if you’re still struggling to overcome your chronic headaches, it’s time to set up a consultation with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn. He can use a number of different tools to help pinpoint the contributing factors to your headache onset and set you up with an individualized treatment plan to reduce or eliminate them.

If you are bothered by daily or chronic headaches, take the first step on the road to recovery and reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Is Dehydration To Blame For Your Headaches?

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

dehydration headacheHeadaches comes in a variety of forms for a number of different reasons. One such common cause of chronic headaches is due to dehydration. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at why dehydration can cause headaches to develop, and the best ways to prevent these types of headaches.

Your body operates optimally when it has the correct level of fluids in it. Your body does a pretty good job of getting rid of excess fluid through sweat and urination, but it can’t force you to consume more liquids. The thirst sensation is the best your body can do to help tell your brain that you’d benefit from hydrating. But why exactly is a dehydrated body more prone to headaches?

Why Dehydration Causes Headaches

If you are running low on fluids and electrolytes, it can cause a physical reaction in the brain. Being dehydrated can cause the brain to temporarily contract due to fluid loss. When this happens, the brain pulls away from the skull, which can trigger a pain sensation that manifests in the form of a headache. Once your body is rehydrated, the brain can return to its normal state, relieving tension and helping to control headache symptoms.

Symptoms a dehydration-based headache include but are not limited to:

  • Pain in the forehead region
  • A throbbing sensation
  • Lowered blood pressure
  • Dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Rapid heart rate
  • Sensitivity to light

Your body will send some passive signals to tell you to increase your fluid intake, like by creating the thirst sensation or with dark colored urine. This is a sign that all bodily functions would operate better if you increased your fluid intake.

Preventing and Treating Dehydration Headaches

If you’re suffering from headaches, one of the simplest ways to see if they respond to conservative care is to really work to increase your fluid intake and stay hydrated. Your headaches may not stem from a major neurological issue, you could just be dehydrated. This is a good thing, because it’s easily fixable. Some ways to remain hydrated throughout the day include:

Drinking More Water – Strive to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to help stay hydrated. Better yet, invest in a large water bottle or canister that makes it clear how much water it can hold. Make it a goal to finish a certain amount of refills every day.

Eating Fiber-Rich Foods – Fiber-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, especially things like cucumbers and watermelon, have very high water content. You can stay hydrated through your food choices so reach for fiber and limit salt intake.

Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol – While on the surface it may appear that these beverages are helping to increase your fluid intake, they actually promote urine output, which can put you at risk of becoming dehydrated.

Be Mindful of Fluid Output – If you’re sweating a lot during a workout or losing fluids because you are in the bathroom frequently with a stomach bug, know that you need to replenish these fluids. Monitor your fluid loss and really work to increase your intake if you’re losing more than normal.

If you can do all these things, you just may find it a little easier to get control over your chronic headaches. However, if they don’t address the discomfort, there may be more going on than meets the eye, and you may benefit from a consultation with a pain management and headache specialist like Dr. Cohn. For more information or to set up an appointment, call his office today at (952) 738-4580.

How To Prevent And Treat Stress Headaches

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

stress headacheThings have become a little more stressful in recent weeks, and all this stress and anxiety can lead to physical problems in your body. One of the more common conditions that can develop as a result of added stress and anxiety are tension headaches. Stress is one of the leading factors in the onset of tension headaches, so it’s important to manage your mental health during particularly stressful times to avoid adding a tension headache to the list of things you have to deal with.

In today’s blog, we take a closer look at these stress-induced headaches and share some tips for preventing and treating them.

Preventing Tension Headache Triggers

Tension headaches tend to develop as a result of muscle tension in your head or neck, and stress can actually cause muscles in these areas to contract. So if you’re dealing with a lot of stress, you may unknowingly be physically stressing key neck muscles, and these movements can induce a headache. In order to prevent these headaches, you’ll want to help eliminate some stress from your life.

Obviously everyone deals with stress in their own way, and everyone is dealing with different things in their life. Collectively, we’re in a pretty stressful time amid the coronavirus outbreak, so stress levels across America tend to be higher than normal right now. We can’t guarantee that the following tips will work for you, but they are a good general list of ways you can work to reduce stress and prevent the onset of tension headaches. Those tips include:

Daily exercise – Exercise helps to get blood flowing throughout your body, which helps muscle groups perform optimally. Exercise can also help distract us from some of the stress-inducing areas of our life, which can help to alleviate headaches. Just be sure to warm up slowly, as intense physical exertion without a proper warm up can actually trigger a headache.

Healthy Sleep – Try to get plenty of healthy sleep if you’re dealing with more stress. Go to bed at a regular time, make the room as dark as possible and eliminate distractions like your cell phone or a television. Make it easier for your body to get a good night’s sleep, because lack of quality sleep can lead to the release of stress hormones.

Eating Right – A healthy diet can also help reduce stress. A healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables can give you more energy to get through the day, which can help you stay motivated to reduce stress. Poor eating habits can lead to weight gain and inhibit the desire to perform other healthy activities, like exercise.

Talking – Social distancing does not mean we need to remain socially isolated. Talk with friends or family members on a regular basis, and you’ll find that your stress levels are lower. That being said, make sure you keep the conversation light, or at least avoid dwelling on negative topics. There are healthy ways to talk about your anxiety and stress, but make sure these topics aren’t the sole focus of your conversations with others.

Plan – Finally, although try to plan ahead for what’s to come. You can’t prepare for every scenario, but try to think ahead so you aren’t caught off guard. Planning for potential outcomes can help reduce stress and anxiety when those possibilities occur. Control what you can control, and you’ll notice your stress levels decreasing.

For more tips on how to manage stress and prevent tension headaches, or for help with your headache-related issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.

A Doctor’s Perspective On Daith Piercings For Migraines

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

daith piercingNobody wants to have to deal with a headache, or worse, a migraine, but oftentimes patients feel helpless to control and prevent their onset. Some people have found that improvements to daily exercise and dietary habits can help a little, but others can’t seem to find treatment success no matter what route they pursue.

One treatment option that we’ve recommended in the past for patients who have failed to find relief with more standard treatment options is the Daith piercing. It involves piercing part of the cartilage in a person’s ear in order to stimulate that vagus nerve. As we’ve talked about in previous blogs, stimulating the vagus nerve may increase parasympathetic activity and decrease excessive sympathetic activity in the region, which would likely decrease the vascular events that surround migraine headaches.

Now, it’s worth noting that our understanding of the inner workings of vagus nerve stimulation is still in its infancy. In fact, the first handheld non-invasive electrical vagus nerve stimulating device only recently received FDA clearance, but it’s a huge step in the right direction in terms of helping people find the right way to prevent and treat their headaches. In our understanding, there certainly appears to be a correlation between vagus nerve stimulation and certain headache relief, but we need to better understand the science between these connections. Simply put, we’re not saying that this is a perfectly wonderful and clinically-proven treatment option for headaches. What we will say is that we’ve seen it work for a number of patients.

Why Consider Daith

When it comes to considering the Daith piercing to help control your headaches, it really comes down to a value proposition. Many patients have spent thousands of dollars on treatments that haven’t proven successful, so when they hear about the Daith piercing, it’s often viewed as a relatively low-risk option from a cost standpoint. The piercing can run anywhere from $30-$100 and you’ll want to find someone with specific Daith piercing experience to place the piercing in the right spot, but it’s often far cheaper than other headache treatment options, so for many it’s worth consideration.

If you’re battling frequent headaches and you’ve tried other options, consider reaching out to a pain management specialist to learn more about vagus nerve stimulation. Some patients have even found some relief by gently massaging their ear in the location of the vagus nerve (see the center piercing in the photo for the correct location) when they feel a headache coming on. Try massaging one side and then work on the other ear. If massaging one side seems to help, that may be the ear to get the piercing in.

At the end of the day, we can’t reiterate enough that this treatment isn’t fully researched and shouldn’t be your first option. However, our goal as clinicians is to help our patients find pain relief, and if other treatments have failed, maybe vagus nerve stimulation is something to consider. You have a lot to gain and little to lose, and we’d be more than happy to go into more specifics during a pain management appointment. We can’t perform the piercing and we don’t refer you to any piercers in the area, but we can talk about the connection between nerve stimulation and headache relief. We may recommend other options, but we want to do what’s right for you. Whether that’s in the form of hands-on treatment or patient education, we want to help you find a solution to your headaches. Give our office a call today if you’ve been battling chronic headaches or migraines.

New Results From The Daith Piercing Survey in London

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

Recently, our friend and colleague Chris Blatchley from across the pond reached out to share some more information about the study he is working on regarding the Daith piercing and its ability to help treat certain types of headaches. Dr. Blatchley recently attended that Migraine Trust International Symposium, at which he presented some findings on vagus nerve stimulation.

One of his most helpful visual aids during his presentation was a two-part poster titled “Daith piercing – Vagus nerve stimulation and migraine prophylaxis.” The poster shows the trial and results of a study that analyzed nerve stimulation for the potential treatment of migraines for individuals who frequently battle headaches. The results are fascinating, and we’re continuing to find more evidence that there is a physical connection between the piercing and a reduction in symptoms, and that patients aren’t just experiencing a placebo effect.

Check out the poster below, and be sure to check out some of the other posts we’ve done on the Daith piercing as well as previous updates we’ve provided on Dr. Blatchley’s work. As always, we look forward to more updates from Dr. Blatchely, and we want to continue to progress towards a deeper understanding of the role the vagus nerve can play in migraine prevention and treatment.