Natural Treatments for Migraine Headaches
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 11:53PM | tagged "idaho falls physician", "mckenzie exercises", "neck pain", exercise, headaches, migraine, physician Share Article | Email Article I have a lot of patients ask me about natural or supplement-based treatment options. I wanted to briefly share some information on the use of magnesium, co-enzyme Q10 and riboflavin for migriane headaches. In a separate post I will share more detail on this subject.
Magnesium:
Evidence is emerging to suggest that a deficiency of magnesium occurs in people with migraine headaches. This may be especially true for women with migraine headaches associated with premenstrual symptoms. Studies have reported positive results with the use of magnesium supplementation in the range of 600mg daily. Three to four months of supplementation at this dosage is likely needed to achieve the preventative benefit for headache symptoms. What is more, magnesium dicitrate seems to be the preferred form for this supplementation.[i]
Riboflavin:
Riboflavin is the water-soluble vitamin B2. This vitamin has effects on energy metabolism in the body. Riboflavin has been shown to have positive effects on preventative migraine treatment (prophylaxis). The mechanism of action for this effect is unclear but it may be related to effects on oxygen metabolism in cells. Studies have shown an effective dose to be 400mg daily of riboflavin.[ii]
Coenzyme Q10:
Coenzyme Q10 is a substance made naturally by the human body. It acts as a catalyst that is used by enzymes in the body in the process of energy production. As a supplement, CoQ10 is used in many conditions including: high blood pressure, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The recommended dose of coenzyme Q10 for migraine treatment is 100mg three times per day. On study showed that the frequency of migraine headaches was reduced by 50% in a group of patients using coQ10. [iii]
Larger randomized controlled trials are certainly needed to clarify the effects of these supplements in the treatment of migraine headaches. That being said, there is encouraging evidence that magnesium, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10 have the potential to be helpful with migraine headache prevention. And they are all safe, generally well tolerated substances that may have wide-ranging positive effects.
[i] Vitam Horm. 2004;69:297-312.
[ii] Vitam Horm. 2004;69:297-312.
[iii] Vitam Horm. 2004;69:297-312.
Reader Comments