Migraine headaches can be and often are so intense that it leaves a person incapacitated and unable to work or perform normal daily functions. It’s common for those who have had regular headaches without ever experiencing a migraine to not understand the real severity of the migraine. This is a common phenomenon with many employers.

According to Migraine.com:

In the U.S., more than 38 million people have migraine disease, with some estimates suggesting that this number may be even higher, impacting as many as 50 million or more. Some migraine studies estimate that 12 percent of adults in the U.S. population have migraine, and 4 million have chronic migraine.

Most individuals in the U.S. with migraine experience one to two migraine attacks per month, however, those with chronic migraine may have 15 migraine days, or more, per month. Approximately 9 out of every 10 people with migraine cannot function normally during an attack, and roughly one in five are disabled.

Did you know that women are twice as likely to have migraine headaches than men? Statistics also indicate that migraines usually occur in people 15-55, years of age among lower income groups who generally do not have healthcare insurance. American Indians and Caucasians are more likely to suffer from migraines than other ethnic groups.

Ann Jones, 70, is one of those with chronic migraines most of her life. She usually suffered around 20-24 migraines a month. They often left her unable to function. Jones had tried many medications. Some of them worked for a short time only and others had side effects that prevented her from continuing to take them.

She was at a point that she was contemplating the possibility of surgery to relieve her chronic migraines, when her doctor suggested she enroll in an experimental program at nearby university of Arizona in Tucson.

Jones felt that it would only be another treatment that at best would be short time only, but she went ahead and enrolled in the study program.

For the first part of the study, Jones was placed in a dark room and exposed to a white light for 2 hours. After so many days of the white light, Jones sat in the dark room with a row of green LED lights. For the next month, she didn’t notice any difference in her migraines, but then she realized that the migraines were decreasing in number and intensity.

Eventually, Jones was down to only 4 migraines a month instead of around 24. The migraines she did have were not as severe as before the study. After participating in the study, Jones commented:

I got to the point where I was having about four migraines a month, if that many, and I felt like I had just been cut free.

There were about 25 people in the study and some of them said they noticed changes in their migraines within just a few days into the study. On average, the patients reported a 60% reduction in the intensity of the migraines and a drop in the number of migraines from around 20 a month to about 6 per month, just from sitting in the dark room with the green light.

It was reported:

The results of the migraine study aren’t published yet. But they build on a small but growing body of research suggesting a link between green light and pain, including animal research done by Ibrahim’s team. While there are not yet robust data on humans, some researchers see promise for a drug-free approach that could help with migraines and possibly other forms of chronic pain.

Naturally, further studies are needed to determine the real effects of green light exposure on chronic pain, but if the early studies are confirmed, just think of the importance this could make. One of the ways many people get addicted to opioid drugs is due to being prescribed opioids for pain. Given the choice of addictive opioids or green light treatment, it seems to be a ‘no-brainer’ decision and not just for migraines, but for many different kinds of pain.

Since I have lived in constant pain for the past 50 years, this is a topic I am excited about and will try to continue to follow.