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Myths and Misperceptions

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Migraine Surgery

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Abstract

Myths and misperceptions about migraine are nourished from different sources. Individuals without migraine often see migraine as something having to do with personality, mood, or behavior. In migraine patients, the disorder can produce a distinct need to explore its causality. Patients often feel that there must be a reason why they are afflicted by it. This can lead to fruitless ventures like the removal of amalgam fillings or the notion of a brain tumor as the supposed cause. Doctors, on the other hand, may add to the confusion by ordering inappropriate neuroimaging, the supposed promise of some kind of future genetic panacea, or the request to monitor a list of alleged triggers. Although migraine afflicts more than a tenth of the population worldwide, it is certainly under-recognized, underdiagnosed, and undertreated. The lack of precise knowledge of its pathophysiology contributes to migraine being widely misunderstood. Sometimes bafflingly simple solutions are on offer for extraordinarily complex problems, and they are usually wrong.

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  1. Medsteps AG, Cham, Switzerland

    Thomas Muehlberger

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Muehlberger, T. (2018). Myths and Misperceptions. In: Migraine Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78117-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78117-4_3

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