Integrative Headache Medicine

Book excerpt: This practical and comprehensive title provides illuminating, evidence-based approaches in headache medicine for using traditional medical therapies in conjunction with alternative approaches to care. In all, the book details how multidisciplinary management and the combination of conventional and complementary medical services – integrative medicine – leads to superior patient outcomes: improved patient satisfaction, reduced stress, and more readily treatable, less serious illness. State-of-the-art and developed by experts in their fields, these 12 chapters present research and analysis of a wide range of non-pharmacologic interventions in headache care, seeking to inspire clinicians to formulate personalized headache treatment plans, and to work together by integrating their expertise in a multidisciplinary context to address patients’ unique conditions, needs, circumstances, and treatment. Chapter one provides an overview of integrative medicine and proposes a step-wise approach for incorporating integrative modalities into a headache practice. Chapter two focuses on the attention to be paid to relevant aspects of a patient’s medical history. The next four chapters discuss lifestyle factors that play a role in headache, including trigger identification, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. The scope of mind-body therapies such as acupuncture, yoga, and mindfulness is explored in chapter seven, and the psychology of pain is the subject of chapter eight. Chapter nine investigates the safety and efficacy of nutraceuticals, or pharmaceutical alternatives. The final three chapters review neuromodulation and interventional approaches to headache management. An invaluable and timely contribution to the clinical literature, Integrative Headache Medicine – An Evidence-Based Guide for Clinicians will be of great interest to neurologists, pain physicians, primary care clinicians, behavioral psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, social workers, nutritionists and any other health professionals interested in delivering the highest quality care for headache patients.