Medication overuse Headaches

Up to a million people in the UK have completely preventable  severe Headaches caused by taking too many painkillers, doctors have said.

They said some were trapped in a “vicious cycle” of taking pain relief, which then caused even more headaches.

The warning came as part of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) first guidelines for treating headaches.

NICE is also recommending Acupuncture in some circumstances.

This can end up getting into a vicious cycle where your headache gets worse, so you take more painkillers, so your headache gets worse and this just becomes worse and worse and worse”

“Medication overuse headaches” feel the same as other common headaches or migraines.

There is no definitive UK data on the incidence of the condition, but studies in other countries suggest 1-2% of people are affected, while the World Health Organisation says figures closer to 5% have been reported.

While painkillers would be many people’s instant response, they could be making sufferers feel even worse.

Tension Headaches helped with Acupuncture

Patients with tension-type headache suffer from episodes of pain which is typically bilateral (affects both sides of the head), pressing or tightening in quality, mild to moderate in intensity, and which does not worsen with routine physical activity.

In most patients tension-type headache occurs infrequently and there is no need for further treatment beyond over-the-counter pain killers. In some patients, however, tension-type headache occurs on several days per month or even daily.

Acupuncture is used in many countries for tension-type headache prophylaxis – that is, to reduce the frequency and intensity of tension-type headaches. The Cochrane Group reviewed 11 trials which investigated whether acupuncture is effective in the prophylaxis of tension-type headache.

Tension Headaches.

Tension Type Headache

Patient: Woman 49 Years
Occupation: University Administrator
Pain: Constant 4/10

Complaint: Constant, ongoing Headache which is present day and night. This headache eases with analgesics, but never clears. Onset, 3 weeks. Stress at work and poor posture are the major cause.

Treatment: Treatment was gentle Massage and Cranio-Sacral Therapy. The back and front of the neck, back of the head, jaw & facial muscles were all treated.

There was a lot of dialog. The patient was able, confidentially, to speak about what was causing her unhappiness and frustration.

After 2 treatments her Headache was gone, but there was a lot of muscle tension remaining, which required another 4 treatments at weekly intervals.

This patient comes for treatment every month, to keep things at bay.