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March 7, 2008

Jeff Tweedy On Migraines

Anytime we can combine music and health issues is a good thing in the Largehearted household. So when I got home last night, my husband told me about a post Jeff Tweedy, front man for the Band Wilco, wrote to the New York Times migraine blog.

Tweedy makes a connection with his migraines and mood disorder. "Migraines would add stress to my life in a way that would contribute to the next headache and it would begin a cycle that would be hard to stop. So I would have periods where I would have a migraine very frequently — every other day or twice a week — for months."

I have to agree. Suffering with my own bouts of migraines, I notice that stress ramps up the frequency with which they occur. Oftentimes, I get precursor signals, like a particular tension pattern that flairs up in my left neck and shoulder, or a visual aura that looks like a blue flashing waffle-iron off to the left side of my vision during periods of stress, like right before exams. If you catch your warning signals soon enough, you can offset a migraine.

For the most part, I’ve found in the last four years that I do get headaches, but if I’m more conscious and aware and can get to them quicker with something as simple as some Advil, they don’t escalate, say Tweedy. So with awareness of your triggers, there is hope.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health migraine

Posted by linda at March 7, 2008 7:01 AM