Women who suffer from both episodic and chronic migraines are more likely to have widespread chronic pain, which is often diagnosed as fibromyalgia. Brazilian researchers evaluated 179 women with episodic and chronic migraine. They discovered that the more frequent were their migraine attacks, the more likely they were to have widespread chronic pain. A likely explanation of this association is the phenomenon of allodynia. Allodynia is an increased sensitivity of the skin during and after a migraine attack, which affects many migraine sufferers. Patients often report not being able to brush their hair or wear glasses because the skin becomes very sensitive. This skin sensitivity can spread from the face and scalp to involve the upper body. It is logical to assume that with frequent migraine attacks this sensitivity spreads and can involve the entire body. This sensitivity is is a reflection of increased excitability of brain cells, which has been documented to be present in migraine sufferers. If migraines are frequent and are left untreated, this increased excitability can become persistent and may predispose to other chronic pain conditions. The obvious important lesson of this study is that migraine headaches need to be treated aggressively in order to avoid the development of additional pain syndromes and impaired quality of life. This treatment should utilize all available approaches – abortive drugs such as triptans (as well as Migralex and NSAIDs), and prophylactic therapies, including aerobic exercise, biofeedback, magnesium, CoQ10, Botox injections and prophylactic drugs.
