MIGRAINES: PART I

In this, the first of three articles on migraines, I discuss my many years of understanding and treating the migraine dilemma and will attempt to share with you my understanding of the importance of cause-and-effect relationships to the condition. This may very well be the key that triggers your memory of the genesis of your own condition.

MY PERSPECTIVE ON MIGRAINES AND HEADACHES

For over twenty years, I have witnessed the many ineffective approaches to migraine headaches attempted by the medical community. During this time, I heard no one in the popular medical culture clearly articulate the cause of migraines. Even more concerning, I listened to experts suggest there is no cure for migraines—only management of symptoms.

I strongly disagree with this premise. I see headaches, migraines, and concussions as conditions with mutating symptoms reflective of their underlying cause. It is my belief that a comprehensive consultation, along with a detailed understanding of the physical and emotional history of the patient, is the initial key to its resolution.

And so, I ignored those mainstream medical assumptions and have been quietly investigating the genesis of my patients’ migraines and treating those migraines with great success. For many years, my patients have been leaving my clinic with their migraines resolved, and those migraines have remained resolved to this day.

Until now, I have stayed silent regarding my methods and success, while the patients who have needed me have come to me, sometimes traveling from around the world for my treatment. However, it has become difficult to remain silent when I see more and more migraine and headache patients suffering from misdiagnosis and inaccurate, unsuccessful treatment.

This series of papers will examine the cause of migraines and clearly articulate hypertonic muscle deactivation (HMD), a ground-breaking physical approach to resolving the mystery of migraine headaches—an approach I have used over the past two decades.

HISTORY OF MIGRAINES

As early as 1200 BCE, Ancient Egyptian medical documents recorded instances of headache accompanied by the severe nerve pain known as neuralgia. This means migraines are among the oldest human conditions chronicled in writing. Yet, despite our millennia of experiencing migraines, it seems we have not moved any closer to understanding their true genesis.

MIGRAINES VS. HEADACHES

I believe there are many types of headaches, but only one migraine. Some headaches may be caused by the contraction of muscles between the head and neck and/or by concussion-related conditions. Heavy pollen or mold counts may trigger cluster headaches, as may barometric pressure changes. There are neurologically related headaches that are obvious conditions when diagnosed. These can be caused by encephalitis, brain tumors, viral and bacterial conditions, meningitis, etc. There are also sinusitis-related headaches initially caused by allergies and environmental conditions, such as air-polluted states and cities.

In comparison, migraines, in my opinion, are related to the compromising of a group of hypertonic muscles—caused by physical trauma—which creates a referred dormant and active action/reaction to the posterior triangular region of the neck and cranium. This triangular region controls the elongation and shortening distance of the neck and head’s coup-contrecoup reaction. This coup-contrecoup, or whiplash, action causes the brain to strike the cranial walls. It also results in the head, neck, and rhomboideus regions of the posterior triangular region of the upper body remaining in a prolonged hypertonic state.

When this region is compromised, the body stimulates a protective reaction in an attempt to protect the neuromuscular spindle fiber from tearing. This reaction places the traumatized muscle groups in a constant state of hypersensitivity, contraction, and circulatory dysfunctional alert. This hyper-alter status runs 24/7 until the correct treatment is provided.

But we must not forget that migraines can be associated with significant loss and grief, as well.

THE MIGRAINE AURA SYMPTOMS 

The resulting migraine pain ranges from moderate to severe throbbing at the front or side of the head. This pain can be unrelenting and carry on for days and is accompanied by other symptoms sometimes described as the “aura.” These symptoms may include:

• Nausea or vomiting 
• Sensitivity to light, sound, or smell 
• Flashes of light and blind spots 
• Tingling on one side of the face or one arm or leg

RESOLVING MIGRAINES

For as long as I can remember, the consensus in medicine has promoted migraine headaches as being incurable—which would be true to the experience of those medical professionals who have never found a resolution for the condition. And, certainly, responding to migraines—seemingly a mystery of the brain gone wild—can seem daunting. But what if migraines are not necessarily brain related?

BUT AREN’T MIGRAINES NEUROLOGICAL?

Many medical providers would argue that migraines are neurological in origin—and they use research to support this view. However, as an expert in migraine, I think that we are so immersed in the theory that migraine is predominately a neurological condition that it is blasphemy to speak otherwise. In fact, in my opinion, the medical consensus that migraines are by and large neurological and are genetically passed down actually speaks to only a small percentage of migraine conditions—which means that migraines are poorly understood and, thus, poorly addressed.

OR IS TRAUMA AT THE ROOT OF MOST MIGRAINES?

In treating migraine successfully over the last twenty years, I have found that migraines are most often physiological conditions caused by physical traumas that are then exacerbated by negative lifestyle choices. A result of trauma to the head and the posterior triangular region of the neck—specifically, concussion, brain injury, and whiplash—I also see that the severity of migraine symptoms is exacerbated by unhealthy habitual lifestyle behaviors that sufferers use to alleviate that initial trauma.

I postulate this argument based on my history of treating migraine successfully. In my treatment, I differentiate between the three most common causes of migraines, finding that they are only going to present themselves in a few different ways.

1. Stress-related emotional migraine (SREM)
2. Trauma-related physical migraine (TRPM), connected to concussion and/or whiplash, can impact the body in three different directions: anteriorly, laterally, and posteriorly
3. Neurologic-related migraine (NRM), connected to allergic reactions; neurological bacteria and viruses, including encephalitis and meningitis; and brain tumors

Therefore, when assessing migraines, I consider these three etiologies (causalities), recognizing that, in my experience, physiological migraines (TRPM)—initially caused by some form of physical trauma impacting the head and neck—are most common.

WHIPLASH, BRAIN INJURY, AND HYPERTONICITY

Whiplash and brain injury conditions create deep and often long-term spasmic muscle contractions, called “hypertonicity,” that engage all the surrounding origin and insertion muscle groups that control the head and neck regions Stimulating a deep and progressive circulatory dysfunction that merges into the posterior, lateral, and anterior regions of the cranium, hypertonicity creates external pressure to the muscle groups surrounding the skull.

This condition poses a challenge to medical providers because it mimics many different conditions—even some that are neurological. Thus, the hypertonic state may persist for months and even years before being diagnosed as a migraine.

MIGRAINES: PART II

In this, the second of three articles on migraines, since some migraine sufferers have experienced migraines for many years, even from early childhood, without a clear diagnostic correlation to their problem, I will attempt to stimulate the reader’s memory regarding the onset of their migraines and will show a possible association between ADD and ADHD and whiplash and concussive circumstances. I will also attempt to reveal some differences in how men and women suffer from migraines and how migraines can be misunderstood and mismanaged as a neurological disorder and not a condition.

WHO SUFFERS FROM MIGRAINES?

According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraine is the third most prevalent illness in the world. Nearly one in four U.S. households includes someone who suffers from migraines. Amazingly, 12% of the overall population—including children—suffers from migraine. In the U.S., 18% of women, 6% of men, and 10% of children experience migraines. Migraines are most common in those between the ages of 25 and 55 and tend to run in families, with about 90% of migraine sufferers having a family history of migraine.

Yet, only 4% of known migraine sufferers seek help from migraine specialists, according to the CDC. Self-treatment, via widely available over-the-counter medications, may be one reason so few migraine sufferers consult specialists. Or they might be discouraged from seeking help, once they have been introduced to the notion that there is no cure for the condition.

WHAT IS THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF MIGRAINE ON THE ECONOMY?

The NIH and the Migraine Research Foundation report this: “Healthcare lost in productivity associated with migraine is estimated to be as high as $36 billion dollars annually in the U.S. In 2015, the medical cost of treating chronic migraine was more than $5.4 billion dollars.” It is safe to say, though, that the actual figures are probably considerably higher, since, as mentioned, many migraine sufferers self-medicate with over-the-counter drugs and other methods.

There are few statistics available on the considerable social and personal economic devastation of migraines on the income loss, job loss, and home loss that create situations in which those who suffer are unable to physically, materially, or emotionally support their family and dependents. However, we do know that hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on emergency room visits to treat people suffering from migraines.

Simply stated, both the direct and indirect economic impact of migraines is untenable.

CHILDREN AND MIGRAINES

According to the NIH and the Migraine Research Foundation, migraines affect about 10% of school-age children. Half of all migraine sufferers have their first attack before the age of 12. Migraines have even been reported in children as young as 18 months. Recently, infant colic was found to be associated with childhood migraine and may even be an early form of migraine.

Children who suffer from migraine are absent from school twice as often as children without migraine. In childhood, boys suffer from migraine more often than girls; as adolescence approaches, the incidence increases more rapidly in girls than in boys. A child who has one parent with migraine has a 50% chance of inheriting it, and if both parents have migraine, the chances rise to 75%.

However, there is no evidence that migraine is necessarily bound to heredity. In fact, regardless of their parents’ susceptibility to migraine, many migraine-suffering children have experienced trauma at a very early age: for instance, a simple fall from a couch or bed—or from a bicycle, tricycle, swing, etc. Or perhaps a first-time parent may drop their young child accidentally, causing whiplash and concussion.

The parents may be so traumatized by such an experience that they emotionally shut down and fail to connect the incident to later symptoms. Or parents may take for granted that such a fall will not cause a concussive condition. Especially if they are able to comfort their child, once he or she ceases to cry, the assumption is made that, since nothing is broken or bleeding, it was just a small bump.

This is not to say that the parent is negligent or guilty. These accidents happen all the time—and some result in headaches and migraine conditions, while others do not, depending on the distance of the fall and the impact on the neck and cranium. But every concussion is not obvious. Therefore, when such an accident is the cause of the onset of migraines, many parents fail to correlate the changes in their child’s behavior and well-being—including ADD, ADHD, or other mental, emotional, and learning challenges, in addition to the onset of migraines—that occur in the days, weeks, months, or even years after that fall. Also, when there is a family history of headaches, there is too often a tendency to “geneticize” the condition, rather than relate it to the earlier trauma.

For all of these reasons, it is important that a medical provider ask questions related to possible concussions during consultation with the parents of children suffering from migraines.

WOMEN AND MIGRAINES

In women, physiological changes during the menses create a cascade of events that leads to a system more susceptible to negative influences on the body than at other points in their cycle. These influences may include reduced immune functioning, emotional lability, and increased physical discomfort and sensitivity—all of which are well-documented in the literature.

I postulate, therefore, that the migraines a woman may suffer during menses are due to a history of physical trauma, concussion, and/or whiplash conditions. It is my experience that women with such a history are more vulnerable to headaches during their menses than those who have no such history—that the hypertonicity related to the posterior triangular region of the neck and head is preexisting to the menses period, and is thus stimulating an elevated physical and emotional response to an already hypersensitive regional condition of the body.

Additionally, many of the women I have treated for migraines have had a history of “pillow propping syndrome” (PPS), in which two or more pillows were propped behind their head and neck while sleeping, reading, or watching television in bed to provide comfort and relieve tension. They also rested their head or neck on the arm of a chair or the couch for the same effect.

However, since it is my belief that migraine headache conditions are caused by a vascular disorder and constriction in the neuromuscular spindle fibers, which stresses the triad region of the posterior triangular region (PTR) of the upper back neck and head and restricts oxygen and blood flow, I contend that pillow propping exacerbates, rather than relieves, the condition—and that the women’s pillow propping was actually creating a self-inflicted, slow but progressive whiplash-type condition causing increased neck, head, and upper thoracic back pain and discomfort.

MIGRAINES: WOMEN VS. MEN

According to the NIH and the Migraine Research Foundation, migraines affect 18% of women, but only 6% of men in the U.S. However, these numbers may not reflect the truth of the situation, as women and men may respond to migraines differently and report their experiences differently, as well.

Here are some reasons I believe women report more migraines and headaches than men:

1. Women are more likely to report headaches and migraines to their doctor than men because of a stronger innate responsibility to support their own health, and thus the well-being and survival of the family.
2. Women are more inclined to report all healthcare concerns to their doctor than men because, rather than fearing the unknown as regards their health, they want to know.
3. Due to an innate male conditional behavior (and a possible fear of the unknown), men are less likely to report pain of any kind to their doctor.
4. And while men may complain later in life to family about headaches and pain, they may still refuse to seek a physician’s care.
5. Women are more likely to exacerbate migraine conditions with slow-inducing whiplash, via “pillow propping syndrome” (PPS), while reading or watching television in bed.

Migraine headaches may have a lot to do with the strength and weakness of the posterior triangular region of the neck, head, and upper back regions of an individual. Statistically, men participate in contact sports more than women. Because such sports can cause whiplash and concussion, which induce a coup-contrecoup response by causing the brain to strike the intracranial skull—and because migraine attacks are degrees of hypertonicity that can be further exacerbated by movement or stress—I believe men by and large have just as many migraines as women, but either handle them silently or choose unreported forms of treatment and care.

CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT OF MIGRAINE

Approximately 3.5 million Americans are currently taking medication to reduce the number of migraine days they experience each month. However, the current available preventive therapies present challenges—including adherence, side effects, and overall treatment experience—which result in the majority of individuals discontinuing the use of their preventative therapy after one year.

CURRENT MEDICATIONS FOR MIGRAINE

Some of the most helpful and commonly used medications for migraines include a family of drugs known as “triptans.” Triptan drugs act as serotonin receptor agonists. They help quiet overactive pain nerves. The literature suggests that triptans are designed to reverse the changes in the brain that cause migraines. Triptans are available as dissolvable pills, regular pills, nasal sprays, and injections. They include rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex), zolmitriptan (Zomig), and others. Some of these drugs may work better for one individual than another. It may take time before a doctor can find the right one. You should always consult with your physician about the various side effects of any drug that you are taking so that you are aware of the symptoms if you are experiencing trouble.

Ergot alkaloids are another type of drug that can stop a migraine. The most popular of this family of drugs is dihydroergotamine (DHE), which can be taken as a nasal spray or as a shot. NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ketoprofen or ibuprofen, may also stop a migraine attack. Often, doctors recommend taking anti-nausea drugs, too.

Another approach is using the eNeura Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator (TMS), a prescription device you place on the back of the head at the start of a migraine with aura. The TMS releases a pulse of magnetic energy to a part of the brain that may stop or lessen pain.

However, it is important to understand that all of these medications have only a temporary benefit and are designed to manage patients’ discomfort for short-term periods. Taken for the long term, they may potentially create additional physical and emotional challenges and diseases. The human body is a system built on rules. These rules are organic in nature, and some can be bent, others can be modified, but none can be broken without a price. Therefore, synthetic medications will always manage but never cure the migraine condition or any other condition. This means that none of the above treatments are effective approaches to either understanding the cause of migraine or effectively resolving the condition.

MIGRAINES: PART III

In this, third of three articles on migraines, I will challenge outdated migraine treatment and present a new understanding of treating migraine headaches. My model approaches migraines caused by trauma associated with whiplash and concussive conditions. Over the past two decades, I have developed an advanced understanding and treatment approach to addressing such migraine headaches, The Swearington Method, which utilizes my hypertonic muscle deactivation (HMD) apparatus.

This comprehensive treatment offers a very high degree of success while presenting no negative side effects or drug-induced reactions. I designed this approach to address what has been missing in the treatment and resolution of the migraine headache.

HYPERTONIC MUSCLE DEACTIVATION (HMD)

The HMD is a hypertonic muscle deactivation apparatus designed to deactivate hypertonic foundations that reside within everyone’s physical structure. Its purpose is to rebalance the physical abnormalities of neuromuscular spindle fiber and create a normal flow of circulation. The treatment process has a three-stage approach. All three stages of spindle fiber deactivation must be addressed in order to complete the resolution of migraine headache conditions.

Based on my hypothesis that migraines are not caused by vessel inflammation, but by vessel constriction external to the brain, I treated ten patients—all of whom suffered from menstrual-related migraines that were incapacitating them for two to three days per month, followed by lingering exhaustion (and all of whom used pillow propping to manage their pain)—with the HMD apparatus. This would test my hypothesis that the migraine condition is a vascular constriction condition originating posteriorly within the triad and referring pain into the posterior and lateral cranium.

Indeed, when I addressed my patients’ upper posterior quadrant or (triad) with the HMD apparatus the results were compelling. I was able to stimulate the exact pathway into the neck and cranium by which the genesis of the migraine condition was derived and magnify the symptoms tenfold.

The first patient experienced some muscle discomfort in the targeted, stressed-related regions. However, that discomfort subsided relatively quickly. And after the first 10 minutes of treatment, the results were extremely promising, with the patient experiencing a significant dissipation of pressure from the region of the upper back, neck, and cranium. After 20 minutes, a continued decrease of pressure was noted in the posterior triangular region of the neck and head. After 30 minutes of treatment, the patient was free of pressure around the posterior triangular region in the neck and cranium.

These treatment results were compelling: The degree of cranial pain and discomfort went from 10 to 0, 10 being the highest and 0 the lowest. What was even more intriguing was that six months after the six-week treatment process, the patient reported no return of her chronic migraine conditions.

This process was repeated with nine different patients, rendering the same positive results. Although limited by the number of patients, at this time my unpublished research has also shown some promising and consistent results in shifting the perception of migraines based on the hormonal imbalance of women during the period of their menses and aligns with my hypothesis that migraines are, by and large, caused by vessel constriction that is quite likely caused by physiological neck or head trauma—and only exacerbated by the physical tensions associated with the hormonal shifts of the menstrual cycle.

HYPOTHESIS

My theory is that 90% of common migraines and headaches are conditions and not diseases and that they are associated within two primary upper quadrants of the body, along the posterior triangular region of the rhomboideus, neck, and head, which I call “foundations.” These foundations govern and control the symptomatic conditions of cranial muscular nerve hypertonicity (CMNH). In other words, my theory suggests that nerve inflammation is not the byproduct of migraine, but of vascular nerve and muscle contraction. Understanding this triad of muscle spindle hypertonicity is the pathway to understanding the condition.

It is believed that early vascular theory popularized the notion that migraines were caused by hypoxemia secondary to vasoconstriction, and that the headache was the result of rebound vasodilation. However, when it was found that reduced blood flow was still present at the onset of headaches, it became evident that the vascular theory could not account for all the features of migraines.

My hypothesis is based on twenty years of research into patterns of habitual behavior and physical trauma caused by accidents. It is supported by my successful treatment of over one hundred cases of headache and migraine, with two- to five-year follow-ups—including that of a patient who is fully recovered after a 46-year history of migraines.

IN SUMMARY

There is an enormous amount of pressure placed on healthcare providers to resolve the migraine condition when their training does not prepare them for such problems. Even if it did, providers’ time restraints will never allow for addressing conditions that require a manual approach. And in many cases, migraine conditions can simply be so overwhelming that providers feel overmatched by what their patients are presenting. Thus, they revert back to their training, which suggests it is better to prescribe something than nothing, and which allows the patient to feel at least something was done to help their condition.

It is not that medical providers do not care—they do. But because they believe they are looking at a disease and not a condition, they limit their options for intervention. Therefore, I argue that no amount of drug, surgical intervention, or nerve stimulation will resolve the headache mystery until the underlying causes are understood.

In my many years of treating migraine headaches, I have come to realize that our understanding has remained centered on migraine being a disease and not a condition. We have embraced data which has misled us to see migraines as some kind of genetic disorder without questioning that logic. But if we don’t ask the right questions, we can speculate on the meaning of all the various research stats and treatments of transcranial magnetic occipital nerve and supraorbital nerve stimulation, yet never understand what they have done to get us closer to the genesis of the migraine condition.

The common treatment for migraines cannot be drugs, surgery, or electric stimuli, as history has shown all of these approaches to be a complete failure. It is my opinion that migraines can only be resolved by understanding the comprehensive physical and emotional history of the patient.

Patients who walk into any medical office, be it allopathic or alternative, have a clear way of expressing their problems. They state that their heads hurt and that the pain is disrupting their daily ability to function normally. However, they are not always able to articulate their experiences well. They lose track of their medical history to explain their condition. Thus, we often assume that we are dealing with “just a headache,” unrelated to a concussion syndrome that may have occurred a decade ago. This is because concussion and migraine headache conditions have not been equated with one another.

In my experience of addressing migraines, I have found it essential to discover when a patient first became aware of the initial symptoms of oncoming migraines—such as tautness in the neck and head, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, and overall pressure—as opposed to the chronic migraine state, which requires medical intervention. I believe migraines have a clear cause-and-effect reaction with many exacerbating triggers. In my experience, migraines are progressive conditions caused by physical trauma with continuous symptomatic triggers—which have been well documented.

This condition will never be resolved by any drug-related panacea or surgery, since the condition is organic, physiological, and must be addressed as such, by asking our patients—and ourselves—the right questions and providing the appropriate treatment based on the answers we discover. In this way, I believe that today’s medical consensus that migraines have no cure will be proved wrong, and our patients will benefit from the new paradigms for treatment.

I hope that in reading these articles, you have gained a greater understanding of the potential cause of your migraine headache condition and that some of the things I’ve mentioned may trigger a memory that will allow you to recognize and trust the process of a new and advanced approach to addressing migraine conditions.