Headache over for headache sufferers

Headache and migraine sufferers will be offered some relief when the North Island’s first headache clinic opens on the North Shore on Wednesday.

Physiotherapist Helen Tufui will start The Headache Clinic in Northcote, after launching the country’s first clinic in Invercargill in 2014.

Tufui successfully treats 94 per cent of patients using specialised physiotherapy technique, the Watson headache approach.

She decided to open the Lake Rd clinic to help meet the big demand coming from the top of the country.

‘‘I’ve had a huge number of people flying from the North Island [to Invercargill]. I’m making it a bit more accessible.’’

Tufui, and the two physiotherapists who will work in the Northcote clinic, were trained at the Watson Headache Institute in Sydney.

It works by desensitising the lower brainstem and is backed by plenty of research, Tufui says.

‘‘One hundred per cent of people who have headaches have a sensitised brainstem. It means that you have a poor tolerance to normal events like stress and hormones,’’ she says.

The problem lies in the muscles in the back of the neck, which pull the top vertebra joints out of alignment when they spasm, often a result of bad posture, Tufui explains.

By gently mobilising the joints in the back of the neck, the alignment at the top of the spine can be corrected, desensitising the lower brainstem, she says.

One patient who is already booked into the clinic is Nicola Hurst, from Northcote, who has suffered from tension headaches and difficulty sleeping since giving birth to her first child six years ago.

Hurst was pleased to find someone offering to treat her ailment, as she found it difficult to know who to go, out of doctors, physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths.

She has tried a number of different treatments with varying success. ‘‘I’ve tried everything.’’

Hurst was encouraged to go to The Headache Clinic by her sister’s colleague, who was successfully treated for her migraines by Tufui in Invercargill.

Once the Northcote clinic is open, Tufui plans to provide ongoing mentoring to the physiotherapists and treat difficult patients, as well as opening another clinic in Christchurch.