Studies for migraine have shown that regular cardiovascular exercise for 30-40 minutes 3-4 days per week is just as effective as a daily medication for prevention of migraine. Exercise triggers the body to produce endorphins, which are natural pain relievers. These endorphins will decrease migraine frequency and severity.
SLEEP
The average amount of sleep an adult needs is 8-9 hours per night. However, in migraine, it is the sleep schedule, not the duration of sleep that is of utmost importance. Migraineurs should maintain a regular sleep schedule, going to bed at the same time every night and waking up the same time every morning, on weekdays and weekends.
EATING
Migraine suffers should eat regular meals throughout the day, every 3-4 hours as drops in blood sugar can be a trigger. Studies have shown that breakfast is especially important, and that eating a protein filled breakfast get reduce migraine incidence. Diets containing vitamin B2 (found in green leafy vegetables) and CoQ10 (found in meats, fish and poultry) can be beneficial as they are both involved in energy production.
DRINKING
Dehydration is a known migraine trigger. A minimum of 64oz of water should be consumed everyday. An extra ~16oz of water should be consumed for every half hour of exercise. Caffeinated beverages should be kept to a minimum as caffeine can be both a trigger for migraine and a cause of dehydration. Caffeine intake should be less than 200mg (~2 cups of coffee) per day.
CLINICAL FOCUS
Pediatric, adolescent and adult headache medicine
Integrative model of headache care utilizing both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies
Medical acupuncture for the treatment and prevention of headache and facial pain
Interventional approaches to headache: botulinum toxin injections, peripheral nerve blocks, trigger point injections, sphenopalatine ganglion blocks
MOST COMMON CONDITIONS TREATED
Migraine headache
Menstrual migraine
Vestibular migraine
Tension type headache
Cluster headache and other Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias