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Alternative medicine

By Mayo Clinic staff

Nontraditional therapies may be helpful if you have chronic headache pain:

  • Acupuncture. In this treatment, a practitioner inserts many thin, disposable needles into several areas of your skin at defined points. A number of clinical trials have found that acupuncture may be helpful for headache pain.
  • Biofeedback. Biofeedback appears to be especially effective in relieving migraine pain. This relaxation technique uses special equipment to teach you how to monitor and control certain physical responses related to stress, such as muscle tension.
  • Massage. Massage may help reduce the frequency of migraines. And it can improve the quality of your sleep, which can, in turn, help prevent migraines.
  • Herbs, vitamins and minerals. There is some evidence that the herbs feverfew and butterbur may prevent migraines or reduce their severity. A high dose of riboflavin (vitamin B-2) also may prevent migraines by correcting tiny deficiencies in the brain cells. Coenzyme Q10 supplements may be helpful in some individuals. Oral magnesium sulfate supplements may reduce the frequency of headaches in some people, although studies don't all agree on this issue. Magnesium taken intravenously seems to help some people during an acute headache, particularly people with magnesium deficiencies. Ask your doctor if these treatments are right for you. Don't use feverfew or butterbur if you're pregnant.
Prevention Lifestyle and home remedies
References
  1. Silberstein SD. Treatment recommendations for migraine. Nature Clinical Practice Neurology. 2008;4:482.
  2. Wilson JF. In the clinic: Migraine. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007;147:ITC11-1.
  3. Allais LK, et al. Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis (review). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons; 2009.
  4. Headache and facial pain. In: Aminoff MJ, et al. Clinical Neurology. 6th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=66. Accessed April 3, 2009.
  5. Goadsby PJ, et al. Headache. In: Fauci, AS, et al. Harrison's Online. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed April 3, 2009.
  6. Bajwa ZH, et al. Pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of migraine in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  7. Bajwa ZH, et al. Acute treatment of migraine in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  8. Bajwa ZH, et al. Preventative treatment of migraine in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  9. Trigger avoidance information. American Headache Society. http://www.achenet.org/tools/TriggerAvoidanceInformation.asp. Accessed March 31, 2009.
  10. Migraine. National Headache Foundation. http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Migraine. Accessed March 31, 2009.
  11. Hormones and migraines. National Headache Foundation. Accessed March 31, 2009.
  12. Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed March 31, 2009.
  13. Cruse RP. Pathophysiology, clinical features, and diagnosis of migraine in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  14. Cruse RP. Classification of migraine in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  15. Cruse RP. Management of migraine headache in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  16. Martin VT, et al. Eletriptan treatment of migraine in patients switching from barbiturate-containing analgesics: Results from a multiple-attack study. Cephalagia. 2005;25:726.
  17. Taylor M, et al. Botulinum toxin type-A (BOTOX) in the treatment of occipital neuralgia: A pilot study. Headache. 2008;48:1476.
  18. Lawler SP. A randomized, controlled trial of massage therapy as a treatment for migraine. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2006;32:50.
  19. FDA public health advisory. U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/SSRI_SS200607.htm. Accessed March 31, 2009.
  20. Bigal ME. Excessive acute migraine medication use and migraine progression. Neurology. Neurology. 2008;71:1821.
  21. Bigal ME, et al. Advil. Wyeth Consumer Healthcare. http://www.advil.com/products/advil/tablet_label.asp. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  22. Maxalt (prescribing information). Whitehouse Station, N.J.: Merck & Co.; 2008. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  23. Treximet (sumatriptan and naproxen sodium) tablets approved by FDA for acute treatment of migraine. GlaxoSmithKline. http://www.gsk.com/media/pressreleases/2008/2008_us_pressrelease_10034.htm. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  24. Neurontin (prescribing information). New York, N.Y.: Pfizer; 2007. http://www.pfizer.com/products/rx/rx_product_neurontin.jsp. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  25. Acupuncture: An introduction. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/introduction.htm. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  26. Natural product effectiveness checker. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  27. Feverfew. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  28. Butterbur. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 2, 2009.
  29. Rios J, et al. Evidenced-based use of botanicals, minerals, and vitamins in the prophylactic treatment of migraines. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 2004;16:251.
  30. The dangers of aspirin & NSAIDS. The American College of Gastroenterology. http://www.gi.org/patients/women/asprin.asp. Accessed April 3, 2009.
  31. Fernandez-de-las Penas C, et al. Chronic tension-type headache: What is new? Current Opinion in Neurology. 2009;22:e1. Accessed April 20, 2009.
  32. Swanson JW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 20, 2009.
  33. Saarto T, et al. Antidepressants for neuropathic pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2007:CD005454.
  34. Ninan M, et al. Dynamic optimization of chronic migraine treatment: Current and future options. Neurology. 2009;72(suppl):14.
  35. Olesen J, et al. New appendix criteria open for a broader concept of chronic migraine. Cephalagia. 2006;26:742.

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June 6, 2009

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