"Graduating from Migraines"
Writer Profile
Fumihiko Sakai
Other : Director of Saitama International Headache CenterKeio University alumni
Fumihiko Sakai
Other : Director of Saitama International Headache CenterKeio University alumni
2018/08/10
My recently published book, "Graduating from Migraines," is a compilation of my migraine research intended to help the general public understand the mechanisms of migraines and how to deal with them. There are many different types of "headaches," and the International Headache Society classifies them into 367 types. Among them, migraines are quite a villain, ranked by the WHO as the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability. The migraine population in Japan is estimated to be about 10 million, making it truly a national disease.
However, in Japan, migraines are often dismissed as "just a headache" and are still not treated as a real illness. Even if people want to take time off from work or school due to a headache, they are told it's "just a headache," so many people "suffer in silence." While researching cerebral circulation at the Keio University Hospital medical department, I realized that migraines are caused by dynamic brain mechanisms. I became fascinated by the mysteries of the brain and have continued my research ever since.
The cause of migraines is polygenic inheritance. Just like in families with high blood pressure or diabetes, a "predisposition is inherited," and when certain triggers are added, a headache attack occurs. The trigger is a drop in brain serotonin, which occurs due to changes in the rhythm of the body and mind. Typical examples include sudden changes in barometric pressure, release from work on weekends, and the drop in estrogen (female hormone) before menstruation. Migraine symptoms are diverse, including throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light, sound, and smells. It is a troublesome headache that worsens with movement and feels slightly better when "lying in a quiet, dark room," making work efficiency drop by more than half or becoming impossible.
When I was feeling anxious about whether I could write a proper book, my wife said, "Why don't we go to the Kumano Shrine you often talk about?" This is the Kumano Hongu Taisha in Kii, where Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, "Japan's most famous headache sufferer," visited to pray for the healing of his headaches. There, Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa received a revelation from a past life and built Sanjusangendo (Kyoto) to heal his headaches. I arrived at the Yakushido hall, which is said to be the site of the willow tree cut down for the dedication, and there I was able to trace the history of migraines.
Since migraines are common among people in their prime working years, the social and economic losses caused by these headaches are significant. In this book, in addition to how to deal with migraine attacks, I share the secrets to eliminating migraines, such as migraine prevention exercises that I devised.
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.