For Migraines

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Do You Suffer From Migraines?

Then maybe you should try icing your head or neck? People have been using ice or crythotherapy for migraines for hundreds if not thousands of years.  There is even evidence that the Greeks first used it.  The first published research, however, goes back the mid 19th century.  It has been such an accepted treatment modality since then that not much new research was attempted until about 30 years ago.  In 1984, Diamond and Freitag found that there was an overall 63% decrease in headache pain by using ice gel packs.  In fact, 71% reported they would use a gel pack in the future. In 1989, Robbins found that over 65% of patients found cold packs to be from mildly to completely effective in relieving headaches.  A 2013 study showed that the application of a frozen neck wrap at the onset of migraine pain was helpful in reducing pain for 77% of the study participants.

Why it works is tough to say.  Some feel it may be due to the constriction and then dilation of blood vessels while others have different theories.  The bottom line, though, is that many find a benefit to icing their head and/or neck when they suffer from migraine and the best part is there are no known negative side effects.  If you would like to try icing your head and/or neck you can get a Cryohelmet or Cryoscarf here.

Recent Post: WebMD suggests ice as a home remedy for migraine relief

Testimonials:

  • I’ve been using the Cryohelmet for almost three months now and it’s amazing!  Its reduced my usage of heavy medication to treat my migraines, and in under an hour my migraines are heavily diminished or gone. – Nicole
  • I tried it out on a friend who gets migraines every once in a while. He simply cannot function when he gets one. He left the CryoHelmet on, went to bed and promptly went to sleep. When he woke, no migraine. No throwing up, no pain. – Wes Welkov 
  • My wife gets migraines and just started using the helmet for them.  She really likes it and says that it helps the headaches quite a bit. – Mitchell Rieter MD
  • My name is Robbin and I work for All-Star.  I’ve been suffering with migraines since about the age of 14.  I have tried every remedy there is out there from over the counter to prescription meds with some relief.  I have always used ice packs when I get them, so when I was offered the chance to be a guinea pig for All Star using the CryoHelmet I was more than happy to do so.  My headaches keep me awake at night especially those that I refer to as “skull” headaches because they are at the base of my skull.  So when I get them I put on my CryoHelmet and lay down.   I can actually fall asleep using the “helmet” and wake up a few hours later and the pain is gone from my head.  I am certainly pleased to be able to have the CryoHelmet in my arsenal of tools to fight my headaches. – Robin
  • I am a Certified Canadian National Baseball Coach who suffers from both migraines and a concussion following a motor vehicle accident some years ago. Over the years I’ve received and continue to receive care for these chronic conditions. I was fortunate enough to have the CryoHelmet provided to me to ascertain the effectiveness on my conditions. I am pleased to say that your product not only provides the temporary relief I have so desperately been seeking, but the CryoHelmet simultaneously provides comfort and relaxation while enhancing blood flow and reducing that migraine associated throbbing. I wish to personally thank Dr. Farrago for his work in creating this amazing helmet. I have also an associated neck injury and the way the helmet literally covers the neck area is an added bonus! Keep up the tremendous work and thank you very much!! – Rob Ford, National Coaching Certification Program, Coaching Association of Canada, Ontario Baseball Association and Coaches Association of Ontario
  • I was diagnosed with “cluster headaches” in February of 1972.  As many people have experienced this particular type of migraine they are excruciatingly painful and in some instances literally unbearably so.  As of 2014 medical/neurological science has yet to find an effective cure or treatment.  Over the years I have had many different combinations of medications and in all instances they have been ineffective in stopping or relieving the onset of a cluster.  When you introduced the CryoHelmet several months ago I was encouraged to read a number of articles concerning the treatment of migraine’s with ice/extreme cold therapy.  Since then I have used the CryoHelmet on approximately 15 occasions and even though the helmet does not prevent or stop the event I can tell you without question that the helmet has been extremely effective in mitigating the pain level.  I also believe the CryoHelmet is very effective in shortening the event duration.  As many people will tell you “clusters” are the most painful of all types of migraines and the CryoHelmet, at least for me, has been a huge benefit and I am thoroughly convinced that ice/cold therapy needs to be a part of every treatment regimen concerning migraines of any type.  As that Dr. told me many years ago “they(clusters) won’t kill you, they’re not fatal but sometimes you will wish you were dead”  He was right and the CryoHelmet has been a blessing. – Bobby McDowell
  • I woke up Saturday morning with the onset of a migraine.  My migraines are usually headaches accompanied with rippling vision in my eyes and I am totally out of commission. I can’t focus my sight and head in lots of pain. When a migraine hits the pain is severe, sleep is not an option for me throughout this experiences.  I can’t focus on anything else but the pain.  Taking medication takes about a good hour to start relieving my pain and another ½ hour before I get complete vision back. This is normally for me the onset of a three day process (once I get one it comes and goes for about three days) and I have to stay on medication.  Also, as soon as I feel it coming on I have to shut myself in a dark noiseless room. I get sick to my stomach, so our weekend is normally ruined. I can’t do anything. I want to thank you so much for the CryoHelmet.  As soon as I felt the migraine coming on I ran to get the helmet, put all the strips in and put it on. I laid down as I usually do to help relax and hopefully ease the pain. I immediately felt the coolness from the helmet which help me focus on all the areas of my head that were feeling the cool sensation. It was the coolness from the helmet that helped me focus from pain to the now cool feeling surrounding my head that help me relax.   And for the first time ever I fell asleep!!!  In about 15 minutes into what is usually a nightmare for me for the next three days.  I have never fallen asleep before! Even better, when I woke up It was gone and I almost felt refreshed. But the most remarkable part of this all is that it was done!!!!!! I didn’t have any small relapses during the next couple of days like I normally would have. I wouldn’t give this up for anything. It saved me from so much pain, and saved my weekend.   I can’t say enough about how happy I am that you thought to get this for me.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. – Louise DiZazzo

REFERENCES

  1. Arnott J: Practical illustrations of the treatment of the principal varieties of headache by the local application of benumbing cold: with remarks on the remedial and anesthetic uses of congelation in diseases of the skin and surgical operations. London: J Churchill, 1849:3.
  2. Wilks S: On sick-headache. Br Med J:8-9, 1872.
  3. Gowers WR: A Manual of Diseases of the Nervous System. Philadelphia. Blakiston, 1893, Vol 2, p 862.
  4. Diamond S, Freitag FG: Cold as an adjunctive therapy for headache. Postgraduate Medicine 79:305-309, 1986.
  5. Lance JW: The Controlled Application of Cold and Heat by a New Device (Migra-lief Apparatus) in the Treatment of Headache. Headache 28:458-461, 1988.
  6. Olson J, Stravind VD: A review of cryotherapy. Phys Ther 52:840-853, 1972.
  7. McMaster WC: Cryotherapy. Physician Sports Med 10:112-119, 1982.
  8. Stillwell K (ed) Handbook of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2nd ed., WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1971, pp 268-272.
  9. Till D: Cold Therapy. Physiotherapy 56:461-466, 1969.
  10. Migleitta OE: Evaluation of cold in spascity. Am J Phys Med 41:148-151, 1962.
  11. McMaster WC, Liddle S, Waugh TR: Laboratory evaluation of various cold therapy modalities. Am J Sports Med 6:291-294, 1978.
  12.  Raskin NH: Headache 2nd edition, New York, Churchill Livingstone, 1988.
  13. Raskin NH, Hosobuchi Y, Lamb SA: Headache may arise from perturbation of brain. Headache 27:416-420, 1987.
  14. Ray BS, Wolff HG: Experimental studies on headache. Pain-sensitive structures of the head and their significance in headache. Arch Surg 41:813-815, 1940.
  15. Moskowitz MA, Beyerl BD, Henriskson GM: Approach to vascular head pain. In Diseases of the Nervous System, ed AK Asbury, GM McKhann, WI McDonals, WB Soudners, Philadelphia, 1986, pp 941-949.
  16. Robbins, LD: Cryotherapy for Headache. Headache. 1989 Oct;29(9):598-600.
  17. Kramer, et. al: Use of the Neuro-Wrap system for severe post-electroconvulsive therapy headaches, J.ECT 2008 Jun;24(2):152-5. doi: 10.1097/YCT.0b013e318158e96f.
  18. Drew, et al: Cryotherapy for treatment of ECT-induced headache. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2005 Apr;43(4):32-9.
  19. Sprouse, et al: Randomized controlled trial: targeted neck cooling in the treatment of the migraine patient. Hawaii J Med Public Health. 2013 Jul;72(7):237-41.