When a busy and active working mother of two lost patience with her chronic migraines and headaches preventing her from running and causing her considerable distress, an article by the Blizard Physiotherapy team on how the issue can be treated sparked the beginning of her recovery.

The busy mother of two young children, who juggles a demanding job in finance with family commitments and her three runs a week.

However, until recently, she wasn’t able to run at all, because an issue with lifelong headaches, together with migraines which started five years ago, had grown to be so debilitating that she was forced to give up running altogether for a year.

The apparent extreme decision to give up the activity she loved came after she started to get headaches while she was running that would last for days, until one day she had a full on migraine during a run which frightened her so much she stopped running for a full 12 months in fear of it happening again.

It was during this lay off from running that she read an article by Blizard Physiotherapy’s Caroline Hennigan in a local magazine, which explained how physiotherapy can help treat headache issues in certain circumstances.

She takes up the story from here: “I had an initial consultation with the physiotherapy team, who asked me a range of questions about specific details regarding my headaches, before I was examined, and my range of neck and upper body movement was analysed.

I was also shown diagrams of the nerves that run to the areas of the head where I get my headaches, which was really interesting.”

She explained how important it was to her to address the issue of her headaches and migraines.

?“I have suffered with headaches all my life, and occasional migraines for the last five years.?I have had many tests, when they have been particularly bad, and, although the results have been reassuring in ruling out anything serious, other than taking pain killers I had not had any treatment before coming to Blizard’s clinic,” she stated.

It wasn’t long before the physiotherapy team at the Bircotes clinic were able to diagnose what was causing Helen’s issues, and explained to her in simple terms so she could understand it in layman’s terms.

She relayed the facts: “My understanding is that I have a poor range of movement in my upper neck and back on the right hand side, which is the side where I get most headaches. By freeing up the movement in these areas the nerves paths will move more freely, and as a result the headaches should improve.”

The 38-year-old mother of two boys, aged four and seven, explained what treatment she has had, and how effective it has been in relieving her issues.

“The treatment inititally involved manipulating areas in my neck, and then my back as well in later appointments. To start with it was incredibly uncomfortable, and they weren’t getting anywhere near the actual joint in my neck, just the surrounding tissue.

However, as the treatment has progressed, they have been able to get into the joints, and the discomfort of the treatment has decreased significantly as the area has become more mobile.
I have been given exercises to do at home, along with the progression of the treatment on my back.”

Blizard Physiotherapy’s team explained how they assessed, diagnosed and treated her from a professional view point.

BACKGROUND
“This lady came to the clinic with a progressing problem of daily headaches located to one side of the head, radiating to the eye and forehead, and a longer past history of migraines which were happening on a fairly frequent basis. She was undertaking a 0 to 5k program by herself, and noticed that the headaches became prominent when running. 

In our experience, ‘migraines’ are a process of excluding all other factors before the diagnosis can be made. Migraines can also be independent of headaches as well as being related. Exclusion of other factors includes clearing the cervical or ‘neck’ region as a source of the headaches and migraines.

ASSESSMENT
When we assessed her neck there were obvious signs of dysfunction, for example, a reduced range of motion generally, as well as localised upper cervical joint stiffness, and differences evident on the symptomatic side compared to the non-symptomatic side.

Palpation ‘touching’ the joints of the neck on her symptomatic side also reproduced her daily headache symptoms. All these signs gave a good indication that the cervical joints were the source of the pain.”

TREATMENT
“Treatment was then effective and quick as well as producing lasting changes. The treatment included manual therapy to restore a normal, pain-free range of motion of the individual joint segments in the neck, as well as providing her with exercises to perform to prevent the problem occurring again.

As she is an accountant, it was unlikely the symptoms would fully resolve and maintain without her making small changes to her postural work habits which was addressed with the exercises.”
 
FOLLOW UP
“On follow up one month later, she reported that she had not experienced any headaches at work or whilst running. It remained to be seen whether the migraines were associated. She also reported that she had completed her 0 to 5k by herself, and asked for some advice on how to progress onto a 10k!” 

The busy mum explained how the treatment had changed her life in terms of her day to day headaches and migraines, and her resumed running activities.

“I now lead a fairly active lifestyle, and jogging three times a week, in the hope of completing a 10k run with my sister at the end of August.  I may not manage the full 10k running, but can now comfortably run 5k three times a week.
   
?“I nearly cried with relief on the first run I did and didn't get a headache!  Generally I have had much fewer headaches (hardly any at all), and, although I have had one recent migraine, it was not anywhere near as severe as previously, and the recovery period was much shorter (previously I could be left with headaches for weeks after a migraine and this time it only lasted 48 hours).

“There are usually a combination of triggers for my migraines, including certain foods and drinks, which I had consumed some of that week, so it could well be the case that my headaches and migraines are not linked.

“The treatment has undoubtedly improved the headache situation, I think my migraines are unconnected and I need to be more careful in managing my known triggers.? ?“The Blizard Physiotherapy team have also been fantastic in offering advice for my running training, as well as nutrition advice.”

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