The Problem, Evidence and a Solution When Treating Headache and Migraine
Acheiving Successful Headache and Migraine Treatment Outcomes
For 25 years Dean Watson has treated headache and migraine exclusively. He has come to recognise that disorders of the upper neck are significantly underestimated as the cause of many different forms of headache and migraine. In fact the vast majority (80 per cent) of patients attending the Watson Headache Clinic (formerly The Headache Clinic) have reported (12 months after treatment had ceased) at least 80 percent improvement in their headache or migraine.
The Problem
Despite substantial research demonstrating that disorders of the upper neck can be responsible for underlying cause of headache and migraine, the Medical Model of Headache continues to ignore, indeed refuses to accept this possibility. Basic neuroanatomy tells us that disorders of the upper neck are ideally positioned to be responsible for the cause of headache and migraine – to take no account of this is a disservice to those affected by headache and migraine.
The Evidence
However without ‘scientific’ evidence, this perspective is unlikely to change, so…
… the Medical Model of Headache has determined that one of the key diagnostic principles of neck involvement is that accustomed (your usual) head pain is temporarily reproduced when examining the joints of the upper neck.
1) In the first of Dean’s PhD studies he examined the upper necks of patients with Tension Headache and Migraine. Temporary reproduction of accustomed head pain occurred in 100 and 94 per cent of those with Tension Headache and migraine respectively (reflecting my clinical experience). This result, according the Medical Model of Headache’s own definition shows us that neck involvement in Tension Headache and Migraine is well… significant to say the least!
A Solution
Now, whilst reproduction of headache symptoms is considered essential to confirm neck involvement in headache and migraine, and certainly if this occurs, one becomes particularly suspicious, there is a more powerful indicator, and this is…
… to not only reproduce accustomed head pain but for the head pain to ease as the examination technique is sustained – this ‘Reproduction and Resolution = RelevancyTM’ of usual head pain is unique to and an essential element of the Watson Headache Approach, so…
2.) In the second of Dean’s PhD studies he measured the activity of the brainstem in migraineurs (it is widely accepted that the underlying disorder in the migraine condition is a sensitised brainstem) during treatment of the upper three spinal joints. He demonstrated that reproduction and resolution of patients’ migraine pain DE-sensitised the brainstem – this is ground-breaking – for the first time treatment of neck disorders has been shown to reduce the precise cause of migraine.
Access To A Skilled Examination of  The Upper Neck
The aforementioned groundbreaking studies further our mission, which is, “a skilled examination of the upper neck becomes an accepted, routine, credible step when investigating the cause of headache and migraine conditions.
One way to skilfully examine the upper neck is by using the Watson Headache Approach, a precise and scientifically validated protocol. Â The Approach consists of a series of techniques which when applied systematically will confirm or rule out upper neck disorders as the causative factor of sensitisation of the brainstem, the underlying disorder in headache and migraine conditions.
