Acute migraine can be debilitating. To manage migraine symptoms, a doctor might suggest relaxation strategies or lifestyle adaptations.
They can also recommend other therapies like talk therapy, biofeedback, acupressure, or hot and cold therapy.
Often, identifying personal triggers is crucial to migraine prevention, as it lets you know what to avoid to stop an episode before it starts.
Over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicines are also first-line treatments for migraine. If they don’t work, a doctor can prescribe migraine medications for acute episodes.
Relaxation techniques
Relaxation engages your parasympathetic nervous system. It can decrease muscle tension and reduce the pain experience.
A relaxation technique could be most effective for migraine if you practice it daily. It should then be easier for the body to enter into a relaxation response when you experience a migraine episode.
Among the relaxation techniques you might try are:
- diaphragmatic breathing: Also known as “belly breathing,” where you inhale slowly and fully through the nose and exhale slowly.
- progressive muscle relaxation: This is when you tighten and relax each muscle group in the body, in turn, to prevent muscle tension.
- guided imagery: This can help distract from pain and invoke a relaxation response.
Meditation, mindfulness, and movement practices like yoga are other ways to bring relaxation into your daily routine.
Acupressure
Acupressure is a component of traditional Chinese practice. It involves applying controlled pressure to certain points on the body with fingers or noninvasive tools.
The practice aims to regulate the body’s energy channels to restore health. You can visit a trained and licensed acupressurist to maintain good health or to learn ways of relieving pain during migraine.
Heat or cold therapy
Many people manage migraine with either heat or cold therapy.
For cold therapy, you might place an ice pack on your temples or forehead, and for heat therapy, a warm pack typically goes on the neck or back of the head.
For ice packs, you should place them for 15 minutes and then remove them for 15 minutes. To avoid skin irritation, don’t place ice packs directly onto the skin. Instead, wrap them in a towel or cloth before application.
To avoid burns, take care not to overheat a heat pack. It should be warm and comfortable to touch.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a procedure where you learn to gain some control over previously involuntary processes.
A healthcare professional will use specialized equipment to show you specific involuntary physiological responses during biofeedback.
As these involuntary responses happen, an audible or visual cue will occur to help you consciously identify the response.
You can then practice modifying the responses that you may have assumed you had no control over before the biofeedback process.
This kind of therapy can help someone with migraine by providing evidence of the effect of relaxation techniques on physiological responses such as heart rate.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a kind of talk therapy. Working with a therapist, you can learn tools to manage migraine headaches.
CBT might help reduce migraine severity and frequency.
During a CBT session, you would learn to identify behaviors that might cause migraine and set up strategies to reduce or eliminate those behaviors. F
or example, through CBT, you might identify that specific sleep patterns trigger migraine headaches, but you can learn how to change those sleep patterns positively.
Lifestyle modifications
Adopting healthy lifestyle habits can contribute to migraine management.
Balanced meals, regular exercise, good quality sleep, and sufficient hydration can all form part of this management plan.
Sleep changes, dehydration, and diet are common migraine triggers, so ensuring your lifestyle supports healthy habits might help result in fewer migraine episodes.
Why is it important to identify your triggers?
Many people experience migraine in response to a trigger. Identifying and avoiding your personal triggers can reduce the frequency of migraine episodes.
According to the American Migraine Foundation, triggers can include:
- stress
- sleep changes
- hormones
- looking at bright lights
- diet
Keeping a journal of migraine episodes can help you identify your triggers.
What medications can help?
Doctors recommend OTC medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) as the first-line treatment for acute migraine headaches.
First-line prescription-only options for migraine include:
- triptans like almotriptan (Axert), frovatriptan (Frova), and sumatriptan (Imitrex)
- combined regimens like sumatriptan and naproxen (Treximet)
- calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors, like erenumab (Aimovig) and rimegepant (Nurtec)
If triptans don’t offer relief, doctors might also prescribe:
- antiemetics like chlorpromazine (Thorazine), metoclopramide (Reglan), and promethazine (Phenergan)
- dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45)
- ketorolac (Toradol)
In the case of refractory migraine, doctors might also recommend intravenous or intramuscular medications.
If you need help covering the cost of medications, the free Optum Perks Discount Card could help you save up to 80% on prescription drugs. Follow the links on drug names for savings on that medication, or search for a specific drug here.
