Nothing could be more pressing on the minds of all of us than the Covid 19 pandemic. Our clinic has been closed to live visits since March 16. We are now doing all virtual visits for both new evaluations and follow up visits. There has been plenty of institutional IT support and direction in these … Continue reading Managing headaches during the pandemic
In thinking about the upcoming American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting in June, our clinic staff has been thinking about what interesting or new information we could offer to present at the conference. This is an important conference in the headache world, a mixture of scientific research and real-world clinical information and ideas. We were … Continue reading Interesting clinical updates on headache
It’s the tail end of the summer, and I have been spending a lot of time with my patients getting ready to go off to college for the first time. It is an exciting and scary time for them (and their parents). I have had a relationship with many of these kids for years, sometimes … Continue reading Going off to college with headaches!
In this post, I will continue the conversation with Sarah Nelson, PhD, pain psychologist. Previously we talked about common psychological issues associated with headache, issues that affect coping and functioning for patients with chronic headache, dealing with resistance to accepting psychological help and barriers to care. What are the best screening measures to use in … Continue reading Psychology and headaches, part 2
Psychological factors are known to play a role in pediatric headache. We know that stress is the #1 trigger for migraine for people of all ages. We also know that stress is a contributor/cause of tension-type headaches (stress headaches). And finally we know that patients with constant/chronic headache often have increased pain and decreased functioning … Continue reading Psychology and headaches, part 1
So it’s been just 1 year since I started this blog, posting regularly every 2 weeks. That was one of my intentions for 2018 and I am so glad I made it happen. I have learned a lot more about headache management in the process. I also learned that I do actually know a lot … Continue reading Gratitude
Over the past year, I have covered many issues and situations in the care of kids and teens with a variety of headache diagnoses. What is the common denominator for all of them? SCHOOL! And your patient can find themselves either very supported or very challenged (or somewhere in between) in the school environment and … Continue reading School and the patient with headache
So in the past few posts I have talked about the effect of a concussion can have on a patient with an existing headache diagnosis. Now let’s take a look at a classic headache clinic presentation as case study. I am using a composite of patients and situations, commonly seen in primary care. Background: Joe is … Continue reading Migraine and concussion case study
In my last post I introduced the concept of concussion and the teenager with headaches. I would like to continue this topic by discussing what is helpful for these kids to help avoid disability and too much missed school. The first step we recommend is for them to see their PCP or even the ED … Continue reading Concussion and the headache patient
There is much evidence and information in the literature about the general effect of concussion on kids and teens. Most pediatric practices and schools use specific protocols for concussion recovery and these plans generally work well. Unfortunately, for patients with headache, the story of recovery can be quite different. In this post, I would like … Continue reading The Impact of concussion on teens with headache
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