Taking Control of Your Headaches How to Get the Treatment You Need

by Duckro, Paul Nicholas; Richardson, William D.; Marshall, Janet E.; Cassabaum, Steven; Marshall, Greg

• ISBN13: 9781572304710
• ISBN10: 1572304715
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-29
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Now featuring new information on available medications, this practical guide describes a complete treatment program that enables headache sufferers to get more relief with less medication use; reduce the frequency of headaches; and become active collaborators in their own multidisciplinary care. The authors explain in clear terms the wide range of medical, neuromuscular, psychosocial, and dietary variables that can affect headache activity. Ideal for client assignment, the book is useful in conjunction with professional treatment or in preparing clients for referral to other mental health or medical practitioners. Special features include helpful case studies, charts, questionnaires, and tips and exercises for clients.

Author Biography

Paul N. Duckro, Ph.D., has been Clinical Director of the Chronic Headache Program at St. Louis University School of Medicine since 1982. A Professor in the School of Medicine, his primary interest has been in developing effective ways of using behavioral and other non-pharmacological treatments in the treatment of headache. He sees these treatments as part of the routine care of difficult headaches, and has worked to make them accessible to patients as part of physician-psychologist treatment teams without the stigma sometimes attached to the use of psychological treatment.

William Richardson, M.D., is the Medical Director of the Chronic Headache Program at St. Louis University School of Medicine. A Board certified Internist, his interests include evaluation of patients with headaches and correlation of physical findings and medical problems with the headache syndrome.

Janet E. Marshall is licensed as a Registered Nurse in the state of Missouri and is certified as a Biofeedback Therapist by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. She has worked in the fields of pain management and headache management since 1978.

Greg Marshall has published articles on various technical subjects and is a prize-winning poet. Currently, he is Chair of the English Department at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Get the Help You Need

Consider Your Options: The Multimodal Approach

Know Your Symptoms: Major Headache Groups

Causes and Triggers of Headaches: An Overview

Identify Your Risk Factors: Some Preliminary Self-Help Techniques

Use Medication Wisely

Relieve Muscle Tension: Physical Therapy

Reduce Internal Tension: Relaxation in the Control of Headaches

Minimize Psychosocial Stress: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Special Categories of Headaches

Checklists for Self-Help

Controlling Headache Risk during Menstrual Periods

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.