Ask:

My eight year old son suffers from migraines. The local hospital advised us to eliminate chocolate, cheese, colas and yeast extract from his diet. We did this right away, but he still gets a headache about twice a month. Painkillers help, but I wonder if cranial osteopathy would be appropriate? He had a traumatic birth, which resulted in a rapid forceps delivery.

Answer:

Migraines usually start around puberty; they are rare in children. I wonder if your son gets headaches instead of migraines. Migraine comes from the words “hemi”, which means half, and “crania”, which means skull, which means that migraines are always one-sided. Atypical migraine, which can be very distressing, lasts more than 24 hours and is accompanied by symptoms that include:
* an aura-visual disturbance that precedes an attack
* a premonition – you know the attack is coming
* sensitivity to light or sound, so much so that you want to shut yourself away
*nausea and vomiting.

The rapid delivery and forceps delivery of your child is the most likely cause of your problem, because the skull is often crushed and the neck damaged as the baby’s head rushes through the birth canal. Forceps can also damage the skull and neck. This results in the vertebrae in the neck becoming misaligned. When that happens, blood flow to the brain is affected because the vertebral arteries, which run through a pair of fibrous and bony canals inside the vertebrae, get crushed. The neck muscles can also contract due to stress and tension, and this results in further restriction of blood flow.

Another potential problem concerns the vital supply of glucose and oxygen to the brain. The brain is bathed in cerebrospinal fluid, through which glucose and oxygen circulate. The skull contracts and expands a dozen times a minute to push fluid out, but tight neck muscles and misaligned skull bones can disrupt this process. The result is that the brain does not receive enough glucose and begins to ache.

There are several other possible causes of headaches, such as grinding your teeth at night. This traumatizes the jaw joints located in front of the ear housing and they can be very painful. The pain radiates to the temples and causes a severe headache. Blocked sinuses, which don’t necessarily involve a runny nose, can also be the trigger. These are usually felt at the front of the head. They tend to get worse in the morning, and also with the sun.

Other causes include food allergies, dehydration, constipation, low blood pressure, and eyestrain due to vision problems. I’m sure her doctor had looked for this, and also the unlikely possibility of a brain tumor. It’s also possible to get rebound headaches from painkillers: the brain likes the painkiller and creates a headache to get more of it.

When your child has had a checkup with their doctor, I suggest the following general treatment:

*Cranial osteopathy is very useful.

* Drink at least six glasses of plain, still water a day. between meals.

*Eat fresh and healthy food preferably organic.

*Avoid citrus, chocolate and sugary foods, cheeses, ice creams, soft drinks, pots, canned and fast food.

*Have your child lie on their back, then massage the sides of the neck and shoulders with a little lifestyle oil for five minutes every other night at bedtime. Then place a flat towel under his head with your hands underneath cupping his head. Now ask him to breathe smoothly and regularly, and gently lift his head from his shoulders. Gentle traction will ease your headache and help you sleep well.

*Check for blocked sinuses by pressing the points on the inner edge of your eyebrows. The pain means that the sinuses are congested. Put two drops of Sinus Oil in each nostril at bedtime.

*Check the joints of the jaw in front of the ear. If they are sensitive, massage regularly.

*Make sure he sleeps on a soft pillow and spends only a short time each day in front of the computer.

*Practice therapeutic yoga with your child, especially cobra, half-bridge, and swing poses. These are explained in the book Therapeutic Yoga.