Joint-Friendly Workouts to Ease Arthritis Pain and Stiffness
May is Arthritis Awareness Month, and it's the perfect time to inject new life into your workouts. Here are some moves that make it easier to move.
Understanding the Stages of Migraines
Few types of pain compare to migraine pain. It seems to come out of nowhere and zaps you for hours or days.
As a board-certified pain specialist, Dr. Dinash Yanamadula at Princeton Pain & Spine Institute in Edgewater and Lawrenceville, New Jersey, diagnoses and treats migraine disease often. Whether occasional or chronic, migraine attacks are more than just a headache, unique to each individual, and can be tricky to predict and treat.
Here, Dr. Yanamadula explains how migraine disease behaves, so you can learn to recognize the signs of an impending attack and take action to reduce or prevent it.
Stage 1: Prodrome
Prodrome, often described as the precursor to a migraine attack, begins a few hours and up to a few days before the migraine attack. Most people with migraine disease experience this stage with most, if not all of their attacks.
Symptoms in this stage vary from person to person and can include any combination of the following:
- Mood swings like depression and irritability
- Excessive yawning
- Light and sound sensitivity
- Fatigue
- Frequent urination
- Sleep issues
- Food cravings
- Muscle and joint stiffness
- Inability to concentrate
Learning to spot these warning signs can help you take proactive steps to mitigate your upcoming migraine attack. Dr. Yanamadula can prescribe medication that may lessen the severity of your symptoms.
Stage 2: Aura
Only about 25-30% of people with migraine disease experience the aura stage. In fact, we diagnose those who do in a separate category: migraine with aura. Even those within this group don’t experience an aura phase with every attack. When they do, the aura typically hits before the headache stage, although it can appear afterward. The aura involves any of the following sensory disturbances:
- Blurry vision
- Temporary loss of sight
- Seeing stars, flashes, or spots
- Tingling or numbness in the fingers, hands, face, or body
- Slurred speech
- Mumbling
The aura stage can last 5-60 minutes. Only about 20% of people who have migraine with aura experience an aura that lasts longer than an hour.
Stage 3: The headache
The headache phase is the most recognizable part of the migraine attack timeline, but everyone experiences the symptoms differently. You may feel pain on one or both sides of your head. It may be mild or debilitating and last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Some of the most common symptoms during the headache stage include:
- Head throbbing
- “Icepick” pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Nasal congestion
- Depression and/or anxiety
- Light, sound, and smell sensitivity
- Neck stiffness and/or pain
- Difficulty sleeping
The headache phase often forces you to take refuge in a dark, quiet room where you can rest and avoid things that aggravate your symptoms.
Stage 4: Postdrome
Once the headache stage subsides, your migraine attack may still go through the final stage called postdrome. About 80% of people with migraine disease experience this after-effect, often called a “migraine hangover.”
Depression, fatigue, and lack of concentration are hallmarks of the postdrome phase, but some people have the opposite response and feel giddy or euphoric.
Preventing and treating migraine disease
Why some people develop migraine disease and others don’t is still being researched, but we do know a lot about what triggers an attack. Identifying and avoiding the things that trigger your attacks is an essential part of your treatment. Common triggers include:
- Hormone imbalances
- Stress
- Irregular sleep patterns
- Weather changes
- Alcohol and caffeine
- Dehydration
- Specific foods
- Strong smells
- Medication overuse
- Light
Knowing your triggers can help you prevent migraine attacks. If an attack occurs despite your best efforts, Dr. Yanamadula develops a treatment plan that includes pain management during and after your attacks.
If you suffer from migraine attacks, get the support you need to manage your symptoms and regain control of your life. Contact us online or by phone to schedule an appointment with Dr. Yanamadula.
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