Non-pharmaceutical Non-invasive Treatment Options for Migraine Pain

Mild to intense throbbing pain that fluctuates for hours and sometimes days, debilitating nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines are more than a bad headache, and someone walking around talking about how they have a migraine is likely using migraine as a catchall term for headache and not actually experiencing a real migraine, as any patient who suffer from chronic migraines know the difference. To someone unfamiliar with the condition, let it first be understood that migraines are classified as a neurological disease that manifests from a litany of contributing factors. Luckily, self-diagnosis of a migraine and a patient’s ability to avoid the triggering of a migraine have increased along with our understanding of the condition. However, knowing when and how a migraine is triggered is not enough to treat the condition or reduce the pain. 

Frankly, the treatment of this chronic condition has been poorly executed, as some medical professionals view it as a latent or untreatable condition that will pass with time or the avoidance of triggering factors. For patients seeking lasting relief from migraine pain, hearing that the condition is often a result of their decisions does little to help the pain and in fact will cause understandable frustration. The objective of this article is to inform patients suffering from migraine pain of their treatment options in relation to solutions with Relatyv. Treatment options outside of Relatyv have their pros as well as their cons that will be discussed. Whether patients choose to seek pharmaceutical or natural treatment, our argument remains the same; migraine pain may be effectively treated.

We must make it clear that our intention is not to disparage the opinions of the medical community. Rather, our goal is to review migraine pain treatments with objective reasoning through careful analysis of the efficacy, side effects, and lasting results of each recommended treatment and weigh our analysis of these treatments in contrast with the efficacy, side effects, and lasting results of treatment with Relatyv. With these parameters in mind, we hope to provide those seeking treatment for pain– particularly migraine pain– an informed perspective which they can then use to find effective treatment.

Treatment Options for Migraine Pain

As we mentioned previously, the symptoms of a migraine can fluctuate from mild to severe. Patients experience and express feeling pain in their neck and head, sensitivity to light and sounds, and nausea in addition to several other symptoms. It is not enough for medical professionals to put the onus of the condition on the patients and tell them to avoid the triggering factors that cause migraines.

Though, in some cases, migraines can be a result of chemical reactions and hormone irregularities that in some cases can be preventable with effort from the patient. One patient in particular comes to mind who had a sensitivity to sodium nitrite found in cured meats. Anytime she had sodium nitrite she deteriorated into a debilitating migraine that lasted for up to three days and had to be in a room with no light or sound and her family knew to avoid her during these times. This was many years ago, but the fact remains that in her case her migraines were entirely preventable by her diet alone. Once she figured out the culprit foods, she avoided them and never had a problem. 

Regardless of a patient’s ability or willingness to avoid migraine triggers, the fact is that migraines will happen. However, for patients seeking treatment, we recommend along with medical professionals that the migraine triggers should be avoided as a preventative measure. Unfortunately, many of these triggers are simply unavoidable as a result of environmental factors and include loud sounds, strong scents, bright lights, hormone imbalances, and lack of sleep. Medical professionals should understand that while patients are aware of the conditions that can set off a migraine, avoidance of these triggers and the resulting inducement of a migraine are often unavoidable. In many of these unavoidable cases, patients will seek immediate relief. However, as we have found in many treatments for pain conditions, immediate relief does not always mean lasting relief. 

When a migraine strikes patients who are unable to avoid the triggering factors and environments, they often immediately turn to the quickest relief. Some of the fastest pain-relievers are known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which include ibuprofen, Tylenol, and aspirin. In our studies, particularly in relation to the use of NSAIDs as a supplement to other forms of treatment, we found that there are several side effects that should be considered and understood by patients. We will, however, consider some of the pros related to NSAID treatment in addition to these side effects. 

NSAIDs are predominantly safe for limited short-term use and therefore readily available to most of the population and while these drugs can provide temporary relief, there are other effects that should be considered by patients. The use of NSAIDs is the most common form of “immediate” relief that patients will seek to treat their migraine pain. While NSAIDs are not directly addictive to patients who use them to deal with pain, the risk of dependency cannot be dismissed. NSAIDs, by their very nature, have a temporary effect, temporary enough to not offer sustainable relief over the hours or days of a migraine. The effects of NSAIDs, while often effective at treating pain, are short-lived and do not last long enough for patients to experience relief over a long period of time. One who experiences the effects of migraine pain for long periods of time will know that NSAIDs are not going to be a lasting treatment for their pain. However, when used in conjunction with other treatment methods, NSAIDs may provide relief long enough for patients to work through those treatment methods. They may also provide the relief needed to get through unavoidable migraine-triggering conditions. However, relying on NSAIDs as a staple to counteract the triggering conditions is not recommended.

For many patients, the minor efficacy of NSAIDs can cause dependency and even overdose. The mild nature of NSAIDs often leads to patients desiring heavier doses outside of the recommendation which is a dangerous step that should not be considered when treating migraine pain. Because of the convenience and availability of NSAIDs and a patient’s desire for immediate relief from migraine pain, the risk of overdose (while not always deadly) increases. In addition, it must be communicated to those seeking effective treatment that NSAIDs, like all drugs, are not without their side-effects. In a study done in February of 2020, doctors V.K. Sharma and associates concluded that, “[a]lthough NSAIDs are among the most commonly utilized drugs, their use is associated with a broad spectrum of side effects, which may include gastrointestinal and cardiovascular toxicity” (2020). While patients may experience the effects of NSAIDs, both positive and negative, they may also question the efficacy of treatment options that they supplement.

Another closely associated treatment for migraine pain is the use of analgesics which are an alternative painkiller. The difference between NSAIDs and analgesics is that analgesics stop the pain signals from traveling back and registering in the brain, while NSAIDs primarily target and decrease inflammation. When pain from a condition like chronic migraines increases and gets to a breaking point, stronger analgesics known as opioid analgesics are often prescribed. 

Opioid analgesics, if you haven’t already guessed, are a much more potent painkiller especially in comparison to NSAIDs. However, if we were to analyze the similarities between the two, we would likely find that the side-effects are somewhat homogenous, especially when analyzing the effects of these drugs on the digestive system. According to a 2017 study conducted by Paulin Jirkof of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, it was concluded that the side-effects of opioid analgesics are diverse and, “. . . include constipation, respiratory depression, nausea and urinary retention, as well as addiction, tolerance and hyperalgesia”. In a survey of side-effects related to the use of NSAIDs, we will find that according to a study conducted in 1993 by Dr. Bjarnason, the gastrointestinal effects of NSAID use range from diarrhea to ulcers, holes or perforations, and bleeding in the small intestine. Cardiovascular toxicity as a result of NSAID ingestion can also result in severe and irrevocable damage to the heart. 

In the 2017 study conducted by Jirkof, it was later found that tolerance of analgesic opioids, “. . . is characterized by a progressive lack of response to the drug that can be overcome by increasing the dose”. Patients should be careful and recognize that as opioids could be used to treat severe migraines, it is likely that dependency and addiction will increase, which is why it is considered a last course of action for medication managed migraines. Risk of dependency and addiction to analgesic opioids is much more serious and deadly when compared to the risk associated with NSAID dependency. 

In a recent study that analyzed the effects of opioids overdose in the United States, it was determined that, “[o]f the 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2017, approximately two thirds (47,600) involved an opioid” (2020) with the number of opioid-related overdose increasing year after year. With dozens of side-effects and potential for dependency and addiction weighing on the minds of patients with migraine pain, it is no wonder that popularity for the type of treatment that Relatyv supplies is growing every day. 

Solutions with Relatyv

Migraine pain is likely a result of a patient’s inability to avoid triggering circumstances and unfortunately, is often not solved with a simple head massage or change in routine. Just about any chronic musculoskeletal pain condition can be effectively treated with Relatyv should be your first consideration. 

Relatyv offers a proprietary treatment protocol called Neuralgesia as their treatment solution to the pain associated with migraines. Neuralgesia is a combination of high pulse electrical stimulation and specialized hydration therapy that produces an enhanced pain relief effect that can endure for months and months after a course of treatment. It is more commonly understood that migraines are at least in part, a result of muscular tissue inflammation that constricts blood flow and creates excess pressure on vessels and nerves that causes migraines. Many specialty migraine treatment centers actually treat migraines by performing injections or other procedures into the muscle bodies of the occipitoatlantal joint in order to reduce inflamed muscle tissue causing restriction. Other physicians rely on medications, and IV medications and fluids to help relieve pain. 

Relatyv created and pioneered a next generation pain management category called Neurofunctional Pain Management, which is the concept behind their proprietary Neuralgesia treatment protocol. This means that Relatyv is creating a new non-pharmaceutical, non-surgical, non-chiropractic, and non-invasive standard in the treatment of chronic migraine pain.