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Anyone who suffers from migraine knows at what point
the migraine becomes disabling and the pain intolerable.
Few sufferers are fortunate enough to see their symptoms
disappear completely merely with the aid of commercially-available
medication.
A migraine can be triggered by many things, but each
sufferer can recognize very clearly the warning signs
of ‘his/her’ migraine when the onset is
not too sudden.
With tension-induced migraines, this precursory state
and the accompanying signs of a progressive increase
in tension and pain are easier to observe.
Through the method of conscious control, a fundamental
principle of the Alexander Technique, the practitioner
will focus on teaching the release of excessive tension
in the neck, helping the head to move more freely and
the shoulders to relax, and obtaining a flexible lengthening
of the back, the entire process seeking to achieve a
dynamic expansion of the whole of the body. This conscious
process is able to cancel out the inverse effects of
a migraine, notably a constriction of the blood vessels
of the brain and poor oxygen supply.
Of course, as in any illness, all aspects of the individual
are involved, even if this is not always evident to
an outside observer. In the case of a migraine, the
same is true and it is not sufficient merely to try
and ‘relax’ in order to let the condition
pass or to expect a pill to solve a problem that has
many and complex causes. The individual’s intrinsic
attitude towards the interaction between his own actions
and what happens outside his control plays an important
role in the way in which the tensions created by a migraine
are triggered and sustained.
The effects on any migraine sufferer’s symptoms
will in practice depend on the steps taken to achieve
improved control on postural mechanisms as a whole.
When the body’s overall neuromuscular system is
given the chance to function unconstrained by the excessive
tensions generally present within the body, the individual
will experience heightened sensitivity to his/her organism.
With a sharpening of sensing perception, the migraine
sufferer will increasingly be able to recognize the
first physical symptoms at an ever earlier stage, when
it will become increasingly easier to respond appropriately
to them. This greater control in terms of responses,
combined with medication when necessary, will be accompanied
by longer respite periods and migraines of reduced intensity
and shorter duration.
These improvements will in turn reinforce in sufferers
the hope of a complete cure and the belief that they
are not completely helpless and that they have at their
disposal, with the Alexander Technique, a powerful means
for recovery.
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