A long day at the office, a lack of sleep or loud noise can all be headache triggers. But if you suffer from regular headaches or migraines, there's treatment that can help.
 
At the LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute, our expert team of neurologists, nurses and support staff first diagnose the cause of the headaches, then prescribe a course of treatment that can diminish or alleviate the pain and frequency.
 
Whatever the cause of your headaches, you are not alone. There are 28 million migraine sufferers in the United States, three-fourths of whom are women. The prevalence of migraines causes $13 billion a year in lost productivity. 

Diagnostics
There are two classifications of headaches. Primary headaches occur when there is no other cause of pain elsewhere in the body. Examples of primary headaches include a tension headache or a migraine.
 
Secondary headaches occur when there is trauma or a problem in another part of the body. Examples would include sinus headaches, or headaches that are a result of bleeding in the brain, a brain injury or a brain tumor.
 
When you arrive at the Brain & Spine Institute, you will be asked to give the specifics of your headaches, and our physicians will complete a medical history and physical exam. Additional testing such as a CT scan, an MRI or an EEG may be ordered.

Headaches can be caused by a number of reasons, including overuse of over-the-counter medications, diet, stress or lack of sleep. 

Treatment
Those with chronic or episodic migraines or headaches may benefit from a change in medication or a weaning of certain medications. Other treatments may include lifestyle modifications, including:

• Stress reduction
• Regular sleep
• Exercise
• Dietary counseling
• Caffeine adjustment

As a patient within the Brain and Spine Institute, you benefit from a top-notch team who adopts a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. If your headaches are related to another problem, you know that there is constant communication between your neurologist and other members of the institute. Our faculty consists of highly skilled experts in neurological health. 

Adrian J. Goldszmidt, M.D., is the director of Neurology at the LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute. He completed his medical degree at Harvard University Medical School. He completed his internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, his residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and his fellowship at New EngMedical Center. His specialties include strokes, headaches and dementia.

The LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute is the only regional option for comprehensive integrated inpatient and outpatient program dedicated to improving outcomes in patients with diseases of the nervous system and spine. The institute's specialists, who work in multidisciplinary teams, include those with expertise in neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopedics, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), emergency medicine, pain management sleep disorders, neuropsychiatry, neuro-oncology, radiation oncology, and neuro-opthalmology.
 
The neurological disorders treated at the institute include Alzheimer's disease, headaches, brain injuries and tumors, epilepsy, back and spine pain, normal pressure hydrocephalus, spasticity and disorders of muscle tone, scoliosis, spinal cord injuries and tumors, and stroke.

For more information about the headache program at the LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine Institute, call 1-888-747-8899.