Migraines and Women – Effects, Triggers, and Chiropractic

A study was published on October 25, 2023, in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences with the title "The physical impact of migraines on female chiropractic patients: A qualitative study." The study was conducted in the eThekwini region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

According to the National Institute of Neurological disorders and Stroke, "Migraine is a type of headache characterized by recurrent attacks of moderate to severe throbbing and pulsating pain on one side of the head." Migraines are one of the most debilitating types of headaches. The American Migraine Foundation estimates that at least 39 million Americans suffer from migraines which affect women three times more often than men.

The researchers in this study investigated three "themes" as they called them, concerning women who were experiencing migraine headaches. The first theme reviewed how often the woman had migraines and what seemed to be the "trigger" factors that started their migraines. The second theme dealt with the physical effects of the migraines and how they impacted the woman's daily life. The third theme examined how chiropractic care affected the women's migraines and their views on chiropractic care for migraines.

The first theme in this study showed that most of the women suffered from severe and excruciating pain usually on one side of their head near their temples or behind their eyes. The woman would typically characterize the pain as heavy, throbbing and pounding. One of the women in the study described their migraine by saying "I get a throbbing sensation behind my eyes and behind my forehead. The pain runs from the front of my head all the way through to the back. Majority of the time it's on one side." All the woman shared that the migraines left them incapacitated and unable to function in their daily life.

In looking at the second theme involving triggers, the researchers found that many of the women related their migraine attacks to their hormonal cycles. All the women stated that stress was a major factor in triggering a migraine. Some also noted that weather, bright light, certain foods, or dehydration could trigger a migraine.

All the woman in this study underwent chiropractic care for their migraines. Their reactions to chiropractic were overall very positive. They reported that chiropractic reduced the frequency and severity of their migraines, as well as their disability and the duration of suffering. One of the women in the study reported, "When it comes to pain, it has reduced significantly after going to a chiropractor… the quality of life is so much better now. It's one of the only things that helped me." Another woman commented how chiropractic helped her when drugs could not, "I can take as much medicine as I want to and it just doesn't help, and as soon as I go to the chiropractor it definitely helps."

In their conclusion, the authors summed up their findings by stating, "The majority of the participants experienced moderate to severe chronic migraines and migraines without aura. During their migraine attacks, the participants experienced debilitating effects, felt mentally or physically incapacitated, described that their life came to a standstill, were unable to complete daily activities and had a resultant decreased quality of life. The study highlighted that chiropractic treatment was favourable (sp) among the female population in improving the quality of life and reducing the severity, disability, duration of suffering and frequency of migraines."