A Potential for Natural Pain Relief in the Future
Migraines are headaches constituted by severe, intense pain on one side of the head, commonly lasting anywhere from 4-72 hours. Some symptoms that may accompany migraines include vomiting, sensitivity to light and/or sound, and nausea. The cause of migraines is not specifically known, though certain things tend to trigger these headaches. The usual, medical treatment for migraines is to take prescription medication. However, a new study indicates magnetic therapy may also be effective for achieving natural pain relief for migraines.
Migraines
Migraines are a relatively common type of headache, in which approximately 30% of sufferers have warning signs, known as auras. Some warning signs of migraines include seeing flashing lights, wavy lines or dots, experiencing numbness in the face, arms, and hands, and/or experiencing a “pins and needles” sensation up to one half an hour before a migraine appears.
Magnetic Therapy for Migraines
Magnetic therapy is an alternative therapy, believed to aid in the reduction of certain types of pain. In a recent study, researchers wanted to determine whether applying a magnetic device to the back of the head would help with migraine pain.
The current study included 201 participants who suffered from migraines with auras, who were split into two different groups. One group of migraine sufferers was given a transcranial magnetic stimulation device, which delivers short magnetic impulses to the brain. The other group of participants was given a trasncranial magnetic stimulation device that did not deliver magnetic impulses to the brain. The researchers instructed all of the participants to put the magnetic stimulation devices on the back of their heads as soon as they experienced the migraine auras.
What the study indicated was interesting; while 22% of participants who used the fake magnetic stimulation device experienced relief from migraine pain two hours after using the device, 39% of those who used the active magnetic stimulation device received pain relief from migraines two hours after they utilized it. In other words, the study indicates the magnetic therapy may be effective for relieving migraine pain.
The potential for magnetic therapy being used for migraine sufferers offers hope to many people. While medication can be used to prevent or treat migraines, some individuals cannot take the medication due to its side effects. Other times, medication may not be effective in relieving the pain felt by migraine sufferers.
The authors of this study acknowledge it is too early to tell if this therapy will be beneficial to the general migraine population, and larger studies need to be done in order to determine this.
Magnetic therapy may be available in the future for treating migraines for individuals who do not respond to, do not want to take, or have negative side effects to migraine medication.
Sources:
Wikipedia: Migraines
ABC News: Magnetic Field Device May Zap Away Migraines
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2 Comments
Write a Comment»Interesting. Magnetism is one of those things that might have a bigger impact than thought. For instance, some cars consume less petrol when the tubes of the petrol are surrounded by a magnet. Nobody really knows why.
That’s interesting! I didn’t know that about cars. Thanks for sharing!