What is a migraine? 

Migraine is a genetic neurological condition that causes some brain cells to fatigue much easier than they are supposed to. When brain cells fatigue they can no longer appropriately do their job, which leads to symptoms. The most common migraine symptom is headache, but some never experience migraine-type headaches. Some migraine sufferers may only experience dizziness, nausea/vomiting, visual disturbances, numbness, weakness, light/sound/smell sensitivity, or fatigue. Oftentimes a migraine patient may experience a combination of these symptoms.

A classic migraine typically involves head pain, usually focused behind one or both eyes. A vestibular migraine typically leads to symptoms of dizziness or vertigo. An ocular migraine consists of various visual disturbances with or without head pain. A hemiplegic migraine brings on weakness and/or numbness along the face and/or body. All types of migraine may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell. It is possible to live with more than one type of migraine. The type of symptoms experienced depend on which brain regions are prone to fatigue.

While migraine is a neurological issue, there are 4 primary triggers that will fatigue your brain and increase the likelihood of having a migraine. These triggers are nutritional stress, hormonal stress, musculoskeletal stress, and psychological stress.

Envision your “weak” brain region as a bucket. These stressors “fill up” your bucket. A migraine comes on when these stressors “overflow” your bucket. The goal of treatment is to both “empty out” your bucket, and make it “bigger” so that you can handle more stressors in everyday life, and decrease the likelihood of experiencing a migraine.

At Virtual Brain Rehab, Dr. Perman aims to identify which brain cells are dysfunctional and carefully rehabilitate them so that they can get stronger. He also works to identify and treat any triggers that are contributing to your migraines. We accomplish this through consultation and assessment, teaching you at-home therapies, managing your nutrition/hormone balance, and guiding you to additional practitioners and services near your home that may also be beneficial for you, all via Telehealth video conferences.

With this multi-faceted approach we can eliminate triggers AND strengthen your brain to truly improve your migraine symptoms. Our non-invasive methods are designed to significantly reduce migraine frequency, intensity, and duration. Our primary goal is to help you live your ideal life, without symptoms!