For a long time it was thought the migraines were due to an increase in the tension of the walls the blood vessels of the brain. Recently it’s been discovered this seems to be less likely to be the cause and the focus has now shifted to considering the inappropriate activation of certain neurological pathway to be the most likely cause. This puts migraines very much in the same camp as chronic pain.
Chronic pain is defined as a persistent pain for which there no longer seems to be any useful purpose. The primary purpose of pain, of course, is to send a signal down a nerve pathway letting us know that we are putting ourselves or have just put ourselves into some dangerous situation. However, this can become a problem if a pain signal is consistently produced as it can start to create a pathway which is either always ‘on’ or extremely easy to trigger. This is a phenomenon called neuro plasticity.
The good news is it is actually quite easy to reset the pathways using something we all have on-board, our conscious mind. Various researchers have identified that with practice we can calm down these nerve pathways and stop the pain in its tracks.
This is an interesting videos and essential viewing for those working to get out of the cycle of pain