Cambridge is a hub for many sports and the prevalence of head-related sports injuries has led to the opening of a new headache clinic in the town.
Headed by physiotherapist Helen Tufui, The Headache Clinic will open on May 24, providing care and treatment for patients suffering from persistent headaches and migraines.
Tufui, managing director of the clinic, says the practice will treat patients with headache and migraine symptoms, and much lesser-known symptoms, via the neck to help give them freedom and mobility in their day-to-day lives.
She says research has demonstrated that the top of the neck, connected to a sensitised brain stem, has a significant influence on the brain stem and flow-on effects of headaches and migraines – and it's in this specific area The Headache Clinic will treat people, helping to alleviate headache and migraine symptoms.
"Head pain is really so prevalent, probably more so than people realise," she says. "I've had patients who have suffered for 25 years and nothing has ever helped.
"When we isolate the structure that is causing the problem and correct the issue, as well as strengthening the muscles and improving posture, it's been life changing for them – as the pain can resolve completely."
The Headache Clinic will be able to help patients with head-related sports injuries, such as post-concussion symptoms, as well as people in regular circumstances suffering from head pain.
Tufui established The Headache Clinic in 2014 after her own experience with headaches and migraines. She suffered symptoms for nine months after a head injury. As a professional physiotherapist, she undertook research into treatment and discovered the neck held a lot of responsibility.
"During the time of my injury, there was a lot of medical research looking into the role the neck plays in migraines and headache," she says. "Some of that research has shown that many people with head pain also have musculoskeletal issues with the top of their spines; it's amazing to have this knowledge because the neck is a treatable structure as the source of the pain."
Inspired by her discovery, she completed training at the Watson Headache Institute in Australia, before returning to her hometown of Invercargill and opening her first clinic to treat the upper cervical spine in 2014.
Now, seven years later, The Headache clinic is helping its patients all over New Zealand, with clinics also in Invercargill, Christchurch and Auckland. From elite sport athletes to people working normal nine-to-five jobs, Tufui says headaches and migraines from a multitude of causes can be treated by addressing the neck.
The Headache Clinic will open on May 24 in the Cambridge Specialist Centre at 21 Hamilton Road. It was the first dedicated practice in New Zealand solely focusing on addressing headaches and migraines.
Tufui says: "We've had a lot of patients coming from all over the North Island to our Auckland clinic, so hopefully Cambridge will be a little closer for some of those people."