Headaches: Pain on the Brain

Headaches: Pain on the Brain

Headaches: Pain on the Brain
Jonathan-Evans-Physical-therapist-south-west-north-fort-wayne-in

Dr. Jonathan Evans

PT, DPT, CMTPT, VRC, PDNC

Chief Executive Officer, Orthopedic & Vestibular Physical Therapist

Do you or someone you know deal with headaches or migraines? Well, you’re not alone-50% of people worldwide reported dealing with headaches on a regular basis.1 The World Health Organization estimates that even with those statistics, headaches and migraines are under-diagnosed. Individuals are suffering each day with these conditions. At ProTailored, our physical therapists specialize in the treatment of headaches. In fact, Jon’s wife, Vanessa, had suggested changing the name from “ProTailored” to “The Headache Clinic” after seeing many success stories from our patients (see our November 2017 Newsletter on our website).

Many people reach for medications as the first line of defense for these ailments; however, often times they do not work and can even cause rebound headaches.Rebound headaches are caused by daily or excessive use of aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol). A well-known medication to cause rebound headaches is Excedrin. Most opiate drugs and migraine medications have been found to cause rebound headaches as well.4, 5 This introduces a vicious cycle of more medicines, injections, nerve blocks, and possible surgery.2, 6

Our goal at ProTailored is to heal and cure these headaches naturally and      permanently so you no longer rely on daily medication or resort to just gritting through yet another migraine. During your time with us, we will identify the primary cause of the headache (car-accident, trauma, posture, etc.) and treat the secondary causes (neck pain, stiffness, weakness). The purpose of our therapy is not to generate dependence on the therapies but to establish a healthy program to reduce and eliminate headaches/migraines altogether.

  1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/headache-disorders
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201065/ CERVICOGENIC HEADACHES/ AN EVIDENCE-LED APPROACH TO CLINICAL MANAGEMENT
  3. Haldeman S., Dagenais S., Cervicogenic headaches: a critical review. Spine J, 2001.  1(1): p. 31–46
  4. Gross A., et al. , Manipulation or mobilization for neck pain: a Cochrane Review. Man Ther, 2010. 15(4): p. 315–33
  5. https://spinalmanipulation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/peripheral-and-spinal-mechanisms-of-pain-and-dry-needling-mediated-analgesia-a-clinical-resource-guide-for-health-care-professionals-butts-et-al-2016.pdf
  6. Simons D.G., Travell J.G., Simons L.S., Travell & Simons’ myofascial pain and dysfunction: the trigger point manual. Volume 1. The upper body. 2nd ed1999, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
  7. Gross A.R., et al. , Knowledge to action: a challenge for neck pain treatment. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2009.  39(5): p. 351–63
  8. Andersen L.L., et al. , Effect of brief daily exercise on headache among adults – secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Scand J Work Environ Health, 2011
  9. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rebound-headaches/symptoms-causes/syc-20377083
  10. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/6170-headaches-rebound-headaches
  11. https://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/no-brain-no-headache–f95c1/?tagSlug=get-well