Book Review, The National Headache Foundation, Headlines, March-April 2008

Migraines Be Gone: 7 Simple Steps to Eliminating Your Migraines Forever, Kelsie Kenefick, MPS, CBT, LMHC, Roots and Wings Publishing, $19.95

If you're looking for instruction on such techniques as biofeedback and relaxation, you may want to pick up Migraines Be Gone by Kelsie Kenefick.

Kenefick is a biofeedback therapist who draws on thirty of years of study in mind-body medicine, yoga and psychology, and ten years specializing in the treatment of migraine, to create the seven-step program outlined in the book.

“This book is essentially about creating new habits,” she writes. She’s not referring to eating or smoking, but to habits that most of us think we have no control over—our autonomic nervous system. This is the “automatic” part of our nervous system that controls such bodily functions as blood flow and heart rate. The autonomic nervous system is also responsible for the “fight or flight” state that so many of us experience as a result of daily stresses. Too much time in this state can push the already sensitive migraine brain into migraine attacks.

The seven steps include: making a commitment to create new habits through the program; understanding the role of the autonomic nervous system in regards to migraine; calming the body and mind through breathing, relaxation and imagery exercises; learning to relax the shoulder, neck, eye and jaw muscles; using thoughts to heal through affirmations; and increasing your circulation through temperature training (biofeedback).

The steps are broken down into a dozen simple and well-described lessons and readers are advised to do one or two lessons each week. Kenefick uses photographs to illustrate stretches and exercises and includes lengthy relaxation scripts that can be recorded or downloaded from her Web site. She also makes the exercises easy to integrate into daily life.

Behavioral techniques like these are used in headache centers around the world and can work wonders in reducing migraines. Kenefick insists that most of her patients have either eliminated their migraines or significantly reduced the number and intensity of the attacks. To keep migraines at bay, the techniques will likely need to be used lifelong—migraine, like asthma, diabetes and other chronic conditions cannot truly be “eliminated”—but being in control of your body’s response to stress is worth it.

~ Lesley Reed

Migraines Be Gone Wins First Place Book Award

Endorsements

"The author's expertise in treating migraine patients is as apparent as her powerful, yet gentle, approach towards bringing balance to the nervous system ...a must-read for anyone suffering from migraines"    

- Elmer Green, Ph.D., Founder of medical biofeedback, founder of ISSSEEM, co-author of Beyond Biofeedback

"Self-empowerment for migraine sufferers...at last! Author Kelsie Kenefick has produced a masterful and concise guide to migraine elimination. If you suffer from migraines, or even chronic muscle tension headaches, get this book as soon as you can."

- Edward O'Keefe, Ph.D., graduate of Pittsburgh School of Pain Management

"Kelsie's program works and helps patients achieve an optimal state of mental and physical health as they learn to regulate their nervous system. Her program has consistently helped my patients throughout the years."

- Lesley McConville, M.D., neurologist, referring physician 

Dr. Merle Diamond, of the Diamond      Headache Clinic in Chicago, is thrilled with Kelsie's book. As seen here, Dr. Diamond is on the right. The Diamond Headache Clinic treats 25,000 patients every year and biofeedback is an integral part of their treatment.

"This book is a treasure for anyone who suffers from headaches ...finally a book has been written that teaches people how to manage their headaches naturally ...bravo!

- Phil Cambe, M.D., Medical Director of Pain Management Program, Boulder Community Hospital, Boulder, Colorado

"This book stands apart from all other books written on migraines because this one tells you what to do about them. Whereas other migraine books help you to understand headaches, this book teaches you lesson-by-lesson how to prevent them from occurring. I use these strategies with my son who suffers from migraines. Thanks, Kelsie!"

- Colleen Grady-Yuskewich, Director of Rehabilitation, Boulder Community Hospital, Boulder, Colorado

Dr. Ninan Mathew of the Houston Headache Clinic is impressed with how thorough Kelsie's book is and he plans on using it with his patients.

  Migraines Be Gone - Book Review

Review by Edward O'Keefe, PhD., for Spirit in the Smokies Magazine, September 2006

If you suffer from migraine headaches or even chronic muscle tension headaches, get this book as soon as you can. The rewards can be life-changing! Author Kelsie Kenefick, a certified biofeedback therapist who has specialized in the treatment of migraine headaches for more than a decade, has written a masterful and concise guide to migraine elimination based on a seven-point process that is easy to understand and follow.

The book clearly outlines a method of self-empowerment as opposed to a helpless victim mentality; it's about learning to create new mental and physical habits to control body-mind functions as opposed to relying on external - and often harmful - chemical medicines.

Migraines Be Gone starts with motivational encouragement and a 25-item questionnaire so that we understand headaches and the stressors that trigger them. An easy progression leads the reader to relaxation exercises with the attention on the importance of diaphragmatic breathing, imagery and specific muscle stretches. It includes useful tips on how to self-treat TMJ (tempero-mandibular-joint) problems, a common and painful condition even for those who don't get headaches. Then, the author examines the role of self-talk and affirmations in reprogramming our minds.

The culmination of Kenefick's program is learning how to regulate the blood flow through the arteries since migraines are, by definition, vascular headaches. The wonderfully empowering message of biofeedback training is that we can learn to dilate the smooth muscles that surround the arteries, thereby preventing migraines. We can learn how to control the unwanted effects of stress and prevent headaches, as well as reduce high blood pressure, pulse rate, etc. This is not a quick fix. Kenefick states early in her book, "It could take from two to four months of focused practice before you gain complete control." But to a migraine sufferer, this is a small price to pay for permanent relief from the debilitating effects of migraine headaches.

Migraines Be Gone: 7 Simple Steps to Eliminating Your Migraines Forever is clearly illustrated. Visit Kelsie's fine web site at www.NaturallyPainFree.com for further information, including how to obtain the inexpensive biofeedback aids used in the program.

Kenefick has more than 30 years of study in mind-body medicine, yoga and psychology. Her book recently won the 1st place EVVY book award in the category of health and fitness in Colorado.

Reviewer Edward O'Keefe, PhD, a graduate of the Pittsburgh School of Pain Management, is a myo-fascial trigger point therapist in Mills River, NC. He has had considerable experience in using biofeedback for pain management and stress reduction.

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