Your Headache Isn’t All in Your Head

Your Headache Isn’t All In Your Head: Neuroscience Education for Patients with Headache Pain

Your Headache Isn't All In Your Head: Neuroscience Education for Patients with Headache Pain is an important guide for patients who suffer from persistent or long-lasting headaches, translating the complex neuroscience of headache pain into language that's accessible to all. Studies show that people who understand how the brain and nervous system work together to create pain are much better off; they experience less pain, function better, have less fear and are more interested in healthy movement and exercise. This understanding is essential to recovery.

How do I get rid of my headache? Research shows that once you understand what's causing your pain, your nerves immediately begin to calm. Beyond education, you have many tools to help ease the pain; this helpful guide details what else you can do to prevent or relieve headaches.

Your Headache Isn’t All In Your Head

For patients who suffer from persistent or long-lasting headaches, this guide translates the complex neuroscience of headache pain into language that’s accessible to all. Readers will learn how headache pain works, how the brain and nervous system contribute to headaches, and how to alleviate and prevent future headaches.

This pain neuroscience education book includes the following chapters:

• Section 1: Understanding Your Pain

• Section 2: Understanding Your Headache

• Section 3: Understanding the Cause

  • 3A: Tissues and Blood Vessels
  • 3B: Extra-Sensitive Nerves
  • 3C: Processing Danger Messages

• Section 4: Understanding What Will Help

About the Authors

Adriaan Louw, _{PT, PhD: Renowned Author and Pain Researcher}

Adriaan has taught throughout the US and internationally for 20 years at numerous national and international manual therapy, pain science and medical conferences. He is a Certified Spinal Manual Therapist, Therapeutic Pain Specialist and has authored and co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters related to spinal disorders and pain science. He is the Director of the Therapeutic Neuroscience Research Group – an independent collaborative initiative studying pain neuroscience and is the Program Director of the Therapeutic Pain Specialist and Pain Science Fellowship post-graduate program for Evidence in Motion.

The Why You Hurt Series

Adriaan Louw has created a series of tools that work together seamlessly, whether you’re a clinician who wants to understand pain education and how to teach your patients, or someone with chronic pain who is looking for help.

Ina Diener_{, PT, PhD}

Clinical physical therapy practitioner and part-time lecturer, Ina has over 30 years’ experience in orthopedic manual therapy. She is from Cape Town, South Africa, and teaches nationally and internationally in the field of cranio-cervical dysfunction assessment and treatment.

From the Back Cover

Headaches affect many people. It is estimated that at least 80% of all humans experience some form of headache on a regular basis. Persistent or long-lasting headaches have a severe impact on daily function and life in general. Headache pain is a normal human experience; without the ability to experience pain, humans would not survive. Living in pain, however, is not normal.

In the last several years, our knowledge of how pain works has increased considerably. New pain research has focused the attention to the nervous system and the brain as main contributors to pain.

This book was written to educate you on how the nervous system and the brain process information and contribute to your headache. The latest research shows that the more you know about pain, and how it works, the better off you’ll be. This includes functioning better, experiencing less headache pain and having increased ability and interest in healthy exercise and movement. This is essential in recovery. Additionally, research has shown that anyone is able to understand the science of the nerves. Welcome to learning about the science of nerves, which is more accurately called the neuroscience of pain.