Headaches: Pills or Treatment?

With headaches expecting to cost the UK economy approximately 10 billion pounds a year, and with an average wait of 10 years for patients to be referred to specialist headache clinics, we question – what are our other options?

For most mild irregular headaches (even hangovers) the obvious choice, is to pop a pill bought over the counter at the pharmacy, or to fight through it and get hydrated. These will often do the trick.

However, before you take any more painkillers, especially if your headaches are more regular, then you should carry on reading this blog post…

According to Consultant Neurologist, Russell Lane, not only are we poisoning ourselves, but regularly taking painkillers (especially those containing codeine) can also result in chronic medication overdose headaches.

According to a published study by Lai JT et al in 2014, 77% of 458 respondents (of which 41% received healthcare training), were not aware that you can get medication overdose (rebound) headaches.

This can occur if you take painkillers more than two or three times a week to self-treat headaches. This affects around 10-15% of the population who experience headaches. As with all medication, they have side effects.

So what can we do to reduce or stop our headaches?

Research has shown that osteopathy is a good treatment option for headaches, especially those with tension and neck related headaches and also for migraines.

Acupuncture is another treatment option that research supports as being effective for headaches and migraines.

Both of these treatment modalities are safe and achieve good results without the need for you to take any unnecessary pills.

You can also help yourself, by finding out what triggers or aggravates the headaches. Common reasons may include stress, caffeine, alcohol and lack of sleep.