Frequent Migraines? 2 Treatments A Brain Specialist Has To Offer That Don't Involve Taking A Pill

If you suffer from migraine headaches, then rest assured, you are not alone. An estimated 37 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. However, some people experience only occasional migraines, while others experience them so often that their headaches greatly interfere with their ability to live happy lives. If your migraines are interfering with your life, then you should ask your primary care physician for a referral to a brain specialist who can offer you an array of migraine treatments, many of which don't require you to take a pill every day.

Read on to learn about two treatments a brain specialist has to offer that may help ease your migraine pain so well that you can begin to live a normal, happy life again.

1. Biofeedback Therapy

Biofeedback is a completely natural treatment for migraine headaches that is considered about as effective at treating migraine headaches as a specific type of medication called propranolol, which is a beta-blocker. On average, this type of therapy is able to reduce the severity of migraine headaches by about 45 to 60 percent.

There are two types of biofeedback therapy for migraines: electromyogram biofeedback therapy and skin temperature biofeedback therapy. However, the goal of each type of biofeedback therapy is the same—they help you learn to calm your body, which calms your nerve cells, and reduce blood flow to your head; this can greatly ease migraine pain.

While biofeedback therapy is often effective alone, it can be combined with pharmaceutical migraine treatment; combining the two of them can be more effective than each treatment alone.

2. Botulinum toxin type A

While you may know that Botox, or Botulinum toxin type A, is a popular anti-wrinkle injectable, it is now used to treat a variety of neurological conditions, including migraine headaches. It was FDA approved for use in preventing migraines in 2010, although it is typically only advised for people who experience migraine headaches 15 days each month or more.

To control chronic migraines, Botox is injected into your forehead, temples, neck, the back of your head, your upper back, and/or the bridge of your nose. These areas contain specific pain fibers that cause migraine headaches, and injecting Botox around these fibers blocks the transmission of pain signals that can cause migraine headaches.

Once Botox is administered, it can help prevent migraine headaches for up to 12 weeks. Most people who obtain Botox for migraines notice that the number of headache days they experience each month decreases by about 50 percent. However, many headache sufferers find that Botox becomes more and more effective at preventing their headaches after about three sessions, so don't lose hope if one round of Botox does not give you the migraine relief you expect.

If you suffer from frequent migraines, then realize that a brain specialist can help you reduce the number of days you experience migraines and/or reduce their severity. Realize that they offer a variety of treatments, so if you don't want to have to take a prescription pill every day to prevent migraines, there are many other types of treatments you can try.