Following on from my previous blog on Migraines, this blog looks at some easy tips that I find can really help people suffering from migraines. Sometimes, some minimal lifestyle changes can make a huge difference with frequency, duration and severity of migraine attacks.
Alongside osteopathic treatment, management is significantly important for you to help maintain changes that are achieved from your treatment. General wellbeing is of upmost importance in managing migraines and there are so many things you can be doing to help this. The following is a guide that I often refer to with my patients and is adapted from the Migraine Australia management guidelines.
Lifestyle
Stress, screen time (particularly before bedtime), sleep quality, and regular partying and drinking are all things that we can manage to help with prevention of a migraine. Often, high levels of stress, poor sleep quality and fatigue can all contribute to migraine, so working on reducing these triggers can often help.
Routine
This is a really big trigger for some people. The brain likes consistency and routine. Trying to keep a regular routine to your day with eating times, sleeping times and even morning coffee times can help with prevention of a migraine. Getting up at roughly the same time each day and aiming for 6-8 hours sleep per night is really important.
Mental Health
Calming our nervous system with some slow breathing techniques, mindfulness and relaxation techniques can help decrease frequency and severity of a migraine.
Diet
Adequate hydration (aim for at least 8 glasses of water a day), gut health (2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of veggies) and eating more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day to maintain consistent blood sugar levels are all things that can help migraine sufferers. It often helps to work with a Dietician to look at elimination diets and identify any food triggers.
Exercise
Regular aerobic exercise can reduce the frequency and intensity of a migraine. Aim for at least 10-20 minutes of exercise each day. Your Osteopath can also help you with some stretching exercises to help reduce stress through your upper back and neck (often where our trigger zones are) and improve posture and general wellbeing.
Often, migraines are a very complex entity, and I always find that what helps one person may not help another. If you would like to discuss your migraines with me further and find out more how osteopathic treatment may be of benefit to you, please do not hesitate to contact the clinic.
Kylie Chiselett is an Osteopath that works at Canterbury Health Hub. She is available on Mondays and Thursdays. Click here to learn more about Kylie. Book online or call (03) 9836 3688 for an appointment with Kylie.