THE ECONOMIC COST OF MIGRAINE in Australia

Have you ever wondered what the economic impact of migraine is on Australia as a whole? If you’re like me then the chances are probably not.

That was until recently when I found some incredible and unbelievable research done by Deloitte Access Economics in 2018.

They estimated the total economic cost of migraine on the Australian economy in 2018 was $35.7 billion! That seems like an ungodly amount of money.

But when you take into account that just over 4.9 million Australians (20 per cent of the population) suffer from migraine, you can begin to see why.

According to The University of Sydney’s figures, that puts migraine prevalence well above some much more talked about conditions. It is much more common than the top three common chronic diseases, high blood pressure (12.4 per cent), osteoarthritis (9.5 per cent) and high cholesterol (8.2 per cent).

So, what can be done to reduce the occurrence of migraine?

Showing people that there are other treatment options out there is, I think, one of the most important things.

Most migraine sufferers simply put up with the pain, or “wait it out”.

They’ll take their medications, which at best only mask the symptoms temporarily, and curl up in a dark room. Then, once they’re feeling better, they’ll do it all again and wait for the next episode to hit.

But few people realise that the joints in the neck can be a major cause of migraine or headache.

Professionals who have had special training in the skilled assessment of the neck may be able to shed some light on migraine sufferers and help them find some drug-free relief.

For more information or to book an appointment with a trained practitioner, contact Bellarine Headache and Migraine Solutions at the Health Creation Centre in Ocean Grove. Follow us on social media for headache and migraine news.

Dr Aidan Mill is an osteopath at the Health Creation Centre in Ocean Grove, where he has started Bellarine Headache and Migraine Solutions.