Both migraine and headache can be painful and disruptive to everyday life, but they are not the same. While a headache is a common symptom that many people experience from time to time, migraine is a complex neurological disorder that often causes recurring, severe head pain along with a range of other symptoms. Because of these differences, migraine requires a different approach to diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management.
Read on to learn how to recognize the difference between a headache and a migraine—and how Barrow Neurological Foundation donors are helping the Lewis Headache Center advance research and provide life-changing care for patients.
Is My Headache Actually a Migraine?
Wondering if your headache might actually be “something more” is quite common, especially because different types of headache can have very different symptoms. It’s important to understand the type you’re experiencing to help guide you to the appropriate treatment and get you closer to relief. Some of the most common headache types include:
- Tension Headache: Typically described as being a dull, aching pain that feels like tightness or pressure around the head.
- Cluster Headache: Unlike a tension headache, a cluster headache can feel like severe, piercing pain concentrated around one eye.
While even a common headache can be quite painful, they tend to be shorter in duration and less severe than a migraine.
Is a Migraine a Type of Headache?
In clinical neurology, a headache is a broad symptom of pain in the head or neck region, whereas a migraine is a distinct, chronic neurovascular disorder. While a severe, throbbing headache is the primary symptom of a migraine attack, the disorder itself involves widespread abnormal neural activity that affects full-brain function. It also has a unique set of symptoms and often requires a different approach to treatment and relief. Key characteristics of migraine include:
- Concentration: A migraine can present as pulsing or throbbing pain, concentrated on one side of the head, unlike a tension headache.
- Aura: In some, but not all, instances, people experiencing a migraine episode may see flashing lights or zigzag lines before the migraine starts.
- Duration: A migraine can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours if untreated, whereas a headache is much shorter in duration.
- Other symptoms: A migraine episode can also involve nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.
Many factors, including stress, hormonal changes, certain foods, dehydration, and lack of sleep, can trigger migraine attacks. For many, migraine can significantly interfere with work, school, family life, and daily activities.
What Are the Warning Signs That a Migraine Is Coming?
Migraine attacks often occur in four phases: prodrome, aura, attack, and postdrome. Not everyone experiences every phase, but recognizing early symptoms can sometimes help you prepare for—or even lessen—the severity of an attack.
- Prodrome: Subtle warning signs (mood changes, neck stiffness, food cravings) occurring hours or days before the attack.
- Aura: Temporary visual or sensory distortions (flashing lights, blind spots, tingling in the face) experienced by about 25% of sufferers.
- Attack: The core phase of severe, throbbing head pain accompanied by nausea and intense sensitivity to light and sound.
- Postdrome: The final recovery phase, often described as a “migraine hangover,” causes lingering mental fog and physical exhaustion.
Can Migraine Impact Long-Term Brain Health?
A migraine episode can certainly feel worrisome, especially with symptoms like brain fog, slowed thinking, and memory lapses. Fortunately, current research suggests that migraine does not cause lasting cognitive decline, even among people who experience frequent attacks. That said, frequency does remain an important consideration because repeated episodes can significantly interfere with quality of life, work, school, sleep, and mental health.
While migraine itself is generally not associated with permanent brain dysfunction, any major change in headache pattern, increasing frequency, or new neurological symptoms—such as persistent weakness, prolonged vision changes, confusion, or difficulty speaking—should be evaluated immediately to rule out other serious medical conditions.
With an accurate diagnosis, individualized treatment, trigger management, and preventive therapies when appropriate, many individuals can reduce the burden of migraine while supporting lifelong brain health.
How the Lewis Headache Center Helps Those with Migraine and Headache
The Lewis Headache Center at Barrow Neurological Institute is advancing the future of headache medicine through innovative research, expert clinical care, and specialized education.
Research is essential to developing more effective methods for diagnosing, treating, and managing headache disorders. Support from generous Barrow Neurological Foundation donors provides headache specialists with critical seed funding, enabling them to generate preliminary data necessary to apply for grants from external organizations, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for larger studies.
Physician-scientists such as Jennifer Robblee, MD, are leading research that addresses some of headache medicine’s greatest challenges, including status migrainosus—a prolonged and severe migraine attack that does not respond to traditional treatment. Her innovative study uses MRI to analyze and compare brain changes during status migrainosus, helping to understand the mechanisms that contribute to treatment resistance—something that could lead to improved treatments for patients.
Dr. Robblee also worked with researchers at the University of Calgary to identify the most effective injectable migraine treatments for patients, recommending that these be routinely available in emergency departments. These findings will update the American Headache Society‘s guidelines, helping to reduce the reliance on opioids in emergency care and ensuring more consistent migraine treatment.
Additionally, Dr. Robblee and Kerry Knievel, DO, director of the Lewis Headache Center, published results from a study to determine whether measuring thecal sac volume could be an effective tool for diagnosing spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Intracranial hypotension, or low fluid pressure within the skull, is typically caused by a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak from the spine. Its hallmark symptom is a severe, throbbing headache that gets worse when standing upright and improves quickly when lying flat.
A Holistic Approach to Migraine and Headache Treatment
Beyond research, the Lewis Headache Center offers a comprehensive Wellness Program—funded through philanthropy—that provides evidence-based, interdisciplinary care. Participants in the Wellness Program can learn about migraine, new lifestyle strategies, and take control of their own headache journey. Components of the Wellness Program include:
- Yoga: Yoga classes are tailored specifically to headache patients and designed to reduce neck tension while working on posture and breath mechanics.
- Mindfulness: Mindfulness practice can directly influence mental and physical health. This is critical for individuals with migraine. Mindfulness classes include gentle stretching, guided meditation, and creative prompts like journaling.
- Empowered Relief: This evidence-based course is tailored to patients experiencing chronic pain, focusing on effective non-medication, pain-relief skills for headache.
- Psychology: Migraine involves changes in the brain and nervous system, but it is also deeply connected to emotional health. The Center’s clinical psychologist teaches techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help patients cope with anxiety about migraine attacks, workplace or academic stress, and social isolation.
Additionally, the Wellness Program offers physical therapy, dietary consultations, and social work services tailored to headache patients.
Donate to Migraine Research and Treatment at the Lewis Headache Center
Generous Barrow Neurological Foundation donors make it possible for the Lewis Headache Center to pursue groundbreaking research, expand access to innovative clinical care such as the Wellness Program, educate the next generation of headache specialists, and bring promising new treatments to patients more quickly.
Every gift helps accelerate discoveries that improve treatment for individuals living with migraine and other headache disorders. By investing in research, education, and patient care, donors are helping transform the future of headache medicine—bringing hope and relief to patients and families around the world.
Make a gift to Barrow Neurological Foundation today to help continue advancing migraine research, expanding access to expert care, and improving the lives of patients. Donate today!
