OsteoVUnderstanding your headaches
Clear, evidence-based articles on headache and migraine. Written for the person living with the condition, and updated each week.
Moving again when migraine has made you wary of it
Exercise can feel like a gamble when it might set off an attack. What the evidence says about regular movement and migraine, and a gentle way to start again.
Is it your neck or your migraine?
Neck pain and migraine often travel together. How to tell migraine from cervicogenic headache, why it is often both, and what a proper assessment looks at.
Waiting for the next attack: migraine and anxiety
Living with migraine can mean living on alert. How worry and attacks feed each other, what the evidence says, and what helps when the waiting gets loud.
Your migraine starts before the pain does
Tiredness, yawning, cravings and a stiff neck can be the opening stage of an attack rather than its cause. What the premonitory phase is, and how to put it to work.
Ten minutes with your GP: making a headache appointment count
A standard appointment is ten minutes and headache is a story that takes longer to tell. The three numbers to bring, what to say about impact, and what you should come away with.
It was never just tension
Plenty of headaches labelled tension turn out to be migraine, and the neck is often what confuses the picture. What the two conditions actually look like, and why the name changes your options.
Why "get more sleep" misses the point
Broken sleep and migraine feed each other and the number of hours may matter far less than how settled the night was. What the evidence points to, and what is worth changing first.
When migraine changes in your forties
Perimenopause can make attacks more frequent, longer and harder to predict. What oestrogen swings are doing, why the change so often gets missed, and what actually helps.
When the painkillers stop working
Medication overuse headache, explained without blame. What the day counts actually mean, what stopping involves, and the better question sitting underneath it.
What your jaw has to do with your headaches
Clenching, temple pain and migraine are closely linked, and the jaw is one of the most overlooked pieces of the puzzle. How to tell if yours is involved.
Migraine aura, explained
Zigzag lights, blind spots, tingling that creeps up your arm. What aura actually is, why it matters for contraception, and when it needs a proper check.
Not another headache diary: tracking that actually helps
Most headache diaries get abandoned within weeks, and not because you did anything wrong. Three things worth recording, and what the patterns actually mean.
When nobody names your headache
Around 70% of headaches seen in general practice never get a diagnostic label. Why "unspecified headache" is a placeholder, and why the name changes everything.
Your neck, your sleep, your mood: the headache web
Migraine rarely travels alone. Neck pain, poor sleep and low mood often come with it, and treating them in separate silos can miss the point.
The hormonal headache: when migraine tracks your cycle
More than half of women with migraine notice a link with their periods. What oestrogen withdrawal has to do with it, and what actually helps.
Managing migraine triggers without ruling your life
Triggers matter, but chasing every one can do more harm than good. Here is a calmer, evidence-based way to find your patterns.
Have a question about your headaches?
Reading is a start. If something here sounds like you, a proper assessment is the next step.
