What is a Medication Overuse Headache?

Headache pain medication ads are everywhere, from glossy magazine spreads to flashy television commercials. It has been reported that 45 million Americans suffer from headaches, many on a daily basis. Though some just put up with the pain, others become totally disabled during the headache. Most people initially turn to an over the counter drug such as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).  The ad’s you see on a constant basis relay the message …your headache deserves a strong painkiller, which will instantly cure the problem. Pain should not slow you down, since there’s an easy, swift solution.But is there really?

 What is a medication overuse headache?

This is a relatively new term for a long-standing, “unnamed” and largely unrecognized condition caused by the daily or regular basis use of painkillers for migraines or other headaches. Sadly, this condition is common. About 1 in 50 people develops this problem at some point during the course of their medication regiment. It also affects five times more women than men.

How does a medication overuse headache happen?

Headaches flare up in response to physical, chemical or emotional stress. As a “solution,” many people take painkillers frequently. Initially, the first doses may provide relief, which reinforces the idea that painkiller consumption is helpful. On a psychological level, what’s known as “positive conditioning” spurs the sufferer to continue reaching for painkillers for relief. What’s going on may have more to do with chemical changes in the brain than psychological conditioning. Painkillers with caffeine, barbiturates, codeine and other opioids are the most likely to have this effect. For example, caffeine increases alertness, relieves fatigue and improves performance and mood. Caffeine-withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, nervousness, restlessness and headaches all encourage patients to continue their use and abuse.

Addictive Pathway:

Abused drugs, from painkillers to alcohol, activate a “pleasure pathway” in the brain and reinforce the behavior. The pleasure pathway, which is called the “dopamine reward circuit,” is connected to areas of the brain controlling memory, emotion and motivation.

The pleasure pathway undergoes actual chemical and anatomical changes that create and prolong addiction, affecting a physiological hold on a person’s ability to function. This is why addiction is often referred to as a brain disorder and isn’t as easy to kick as simply mind over matter. Like drugs such as cocaine or heroin some painkillers trigger the release of the brain’s natural “feel-good” pain fighting chemicals called endogenous opioids or endorphins. As with any addictive drug, the more often they are used, the less sensitive the brain becomes to them. These drugs literally alter the brain.

Withdrawal Woes:

            After a period of regular painkiller doses the body becomes used to the pain medication. When the sufferer doesn’t take a painkiller within a day or so of the last dose, then “rebound” or “withdrawal” headaches develop. What the sufferer thinks is just an especially persistent headache is actually a symptom of medication withdrawal. Not recognizing that the medication is the culprit, the patient may take another dose. When the effect of each dose wears off, a further withdrawal headache develops. In time, sufferers will develop regular headaches that may appear on a daily basis. Some people resort to taking painkillers “routinely” to try to prevent headaches, which only makes the situation worse.

Which painkillers cause medication overuse headaches?

If you think that only prescription medication can cause medication overuse headaches, you’re wrong! Almost any pain medication that provides “rapid” headache relief can cause a medication overuse headache. Culprits include simple pain relievers like aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (such as Advil, Motrin, Aleve, and Midol). Mixed analgesics, which include over-the-counter and prescription drugs containing caffeine, aspirin and acetaminophen, are especially known as medication overuse headache instigators. Other offenders included migraine-specific medications, such as Ergomar, Migranal, Imitrex, Zomig, and opiates, such as Tylenol 3, Vicodin and Percocet. According to the researchers, “Medication overuse headaches patients have a greater risk of suffering from anxiety and depression, and these disorders may be a risk factor for the evolution of migraine into a medication overuse headache.”

Medication overuse headaches may be a precursor to other disorders:

Although research into this area is still preliminary, scientists speculate that medication overuse headaches may be a precursor for more serious conditions. Researchers hypothesize that the same brain changes and chain of events that lead to medication overuse headaches may trigger other disorders, if medication overuse continues. Besides emotional problems, these disorders may include other forms of chronic pain, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Wellness Lifestyle Solution:

As a wellness doctor I teach all my patients that the solution to headaches isn’t found in a pill.  The solution should include an in-depth consultation that begins with evaluating the entire body and lifestyle choices. A convincing study reported that chiropractic was 57% more effective than drug therapy in reducing headache and migraine pain!  They concluded – chiropractic first, drugs second and surgery last. Treatment for headaches is often a multidisciplinary approach which involves stress reduction techniques such as regular chiropractic adjustments, biofeedback, acupuncture, prescribing a healthy diet, and regular exercise. All the components of a full wellness lifestyle are proven to eliminate headache pain and free you, the patient, from the side effects of medications.

Call our office today (916) 973-1661 to start your true wellness journey to health and vitality!

How does Interval Training influence Brain and Heart Health?

Science has shown for centuries that our brain controls all systems in the body, additionally it requires more oxygen than any other working organ. Making sure our heart is healthy can ensure better brain function. A properly functioning nervous system is the primary goal for our patients care in our office. Regular chiropractic care supports all exercise activities; the converse is true as well that regular exercise helps support chiropractic care.

The simple explanation of interval training states that during a workout the athlete picks up the pace to push their heart rate for 30 seconds- 2 minutes, and then cooling off to return to the athlete’s ideal target heart range. Interval training is an important part of aerobic exercise. If you're a walker or a runner, run intervals once a week. Walking and running build endurance by strengthening your cardiovascular system. Completing interval training once a week can enhance your endurance by increasing the amount of blood your heart pumps with every beat (This is known as your cardiac stroke volume.) Interval training also increases the amount of oxygen your body can take in on each breath. (This is known as your respiratory vital capacity.) The result is you can have noticeably increased speed, as well as increased reserves when you need a prolonged burst of energy.

The same principle(s) apply for any type of aerobic activity. The interval system is easy to apply. For example, if you're a swimmer, you can do interval training with laps. If you ride a bike, you can do intervals with timed sprints. There many books and magazine articles available to help you add interval training to your aerobics program. If you're doing aerobics exercise three times per week, insert interval training into one of those session for better results. Interval training is very powerful; remember the most important aspect is to build up gradually.

To begin, you need to start with a good base by completing aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes. Using running as an example, you might be running 10-minute miles in at a fast "race pace". Ten minutes per mile is 2.5 minutes per quarter-mile. On your interval day, warm up by lightly jogging 1 mile. Then run four quarter-miles at a pace a slightly faster than your “race pace.” In this example, you could run four quarter-miles at 2:25 or 2:20 per quarter. Then finish by lightly jogging for another mile.

Over time your interval pace will get faster. You could do intervals with half-miles, three-quarters of a mile, or even a mile, but only if your weekly mileage supports such an interval distance. Most of us will see remarkable benefits by doing quarter-mile or occasional half-mile intervals.

One obvious result is that your resting heart pulse may drop like a stone; this is because your heart is being trained to pump more blood each time it contracts. Your heart will also beat less during the course of the day to provide the amount of blood you need flowing to your tissues. This saves wear and tear on your heart and it will last longer because you're doing intense vigorous exercise. That's a pretty remarkable result!

The bottom line is that interval training makes your heart and brain healthier. Your heart and lungs get a terrific workout with each interval training session. There's a big payoff for this once-a-week activity. Start your interval training TODAY!

What's your state of mind?

I learned a long time ago that the only thing I can truly control in my LIFE  is my own state of mind. Learning to take control of my emotional state of mind created a sense of power and peace. This is a princple I continue to practice as a daily discipline.

       

One of my favorite items to research is the organizing principles of complex neurological processes, and how the brain works to create the best and healthiest response. This action seems to pay off more often than not. My ultimate goal for myself and my patients is to create a healthier brain and nervous system. Many times the stresses we put on ourselves are self inflicted by our own actions and responses to different LIFE situations.

   

How do I do it?  Personally I believe it comes down to ASK-ing a better question of myself when under STRESS. Looking for the possible lesson to learn is always the highest and best decision .

If a stressful situation arises ASK a pattern interrupting question(s) -How can I be more calm at this specific moment? Would it change my outcome?

Just by stopping to ASK these questions of myself gives my mind the ability and time to pause for a moment. I decrease the intensity of my "react".

My list of "C" states or emotions:

C states: Calm, Creative, Curious, Collective, Caring, Centered. This process helps me stop and evaluate the emotional state I am striving to create before I might over react. My body is healthier in the long run by not creating an unnecessary fight or flight stress response.

    

Avoid my "F" states list to decrease stress:

These states are often also self inflicted energy draining responses that can be avoided

F states stands for Fearful, Frantic, Fragile, Forgetful, Furious, Frustrated.

    

The intent of this information...WE have the ability to consciously use our higher brain to  create our own internal states. Unconscious feelings can be turned into much healthier emotions. Stopping for even just a moment before we react kicks us out of the lower brain fight or flight response. This is a much healthier choice... be more proactive and less reactive!

Better Brain Tip:

Try ASKing yourself a BETTER question next time you're starting to feel out of control or stressed.

Taking the Pain Out of Depression

Many of us think of depression as a psychological condition. The causes of depression are sought in the person's childhood or in their personal circumstances as an adult. But within the last 10 or 20 years depression is increasingly being evaluated within a physiological context. Various disease states and physical disorders are being recognized as important contributors to depression. This viewpoint is empowering to persons with depression and often provides a way forward when progress has been minimal or absent.

Those with depression experience both physical and psychological pain. It is well-documented that chronic physical pain can lead to depression. Also, it is well-known that depressive states can cause physical pain. A feedback loop (vicious circle) is often created in which physical pain makes a person's depression worse and the person's depression makes the physical pain worse.

In addition, changes in brain physiology may cause a person to be depressed. In other words, abnormal electrical activity in the brain - which, of course, is not under the person's conscious control - may result in depression. The brain's electrical activity is evaluated by a method known as quantitative EEG (QEEG). For those with clinical depression, the QEEG often demonstrates too much slow-wave activity in the left front brain (prefrontal cortex) and too much fast-wave activity in the right prefrontal cortex.

For those with clinical depression, the light of the world is considerably dimmed. The mood of a depressed person is low and he loses interest in normally pleasurable activities. Depressive disorders interfere with a person's work and/or school activities, family life and social life, and overall health. Lack of energy, lack of appetite, and decreased physical activity are all associated with clinical depression.

An access to relieving chronic depression may be found in encouraging the person to begin to engage in physical activity. Such activity may be difficult for those who are severely depressed, and yet all persons with depression should be presented with a form of movement therapy.

Additionally, chiropractic care, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage therapy, and meditation may be of great benefit for those with clinical depression. The pain relief and improved musculoskeletal function afforded by alternative treatment may help reduce the physical component of ongoing depression. Physical movement has also been shown to affect brain transmitter production leading to a remission in the depression.

Better Brain TIP OF THE WEEK:

Put 30 minutes of continuous movement in your morning for a healthier day. For added benefit do your movement outside enjoying the benefit of the relaxing sounds of the world around you!