If you have been considering getting a dog, add pain management to your list of reasons. According to a study in the journal of Pain Medicine, a therapy dog is a new addition to the pain management team.  According to Dr. Marcus who writes the well know migraine.com blog, “Therapy dogs have been trained to be quiet, calm, and soothing. Therapy dogs undergo extensive training and testing before they can be certified for therapy work. Typical therapy dogs' work involves the dog standing by or sitting with a patient and getting petted. It may not sound like this is much therapy, but studies have proven spending time with a therapy dog produces measureable reductions in stress levels and the body’s stress chemicals.”

There has been a lot of talk about “migraine triggers,” including diet, exercise and sleeping habits.  The most controversial is the idea of food triggers. “Although many people believe that some foods may trigger a migraine, the evidence remains a bit fuzzy,” says Elizabeth Loder, MD, MPH, the chief of the Division of Headache and Pain at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Loder points out that it is difficult to track food triggers because different foods may affect people in different ways. There’s also no consensus about how long it might take a dietary culprit to set off a headache so it’s difficult to pin down which foods are the real trouble makers.

That embarrassing snoring habit your spouse complains about during family gatherings may have something in common with the worn down teeth the dentist is always harassing you about at checkups. Both of these seemingly harmless habits may be symptoms of a serious health problem, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Research presented at the 2009 American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) showed that 1 in 4 patients suffering from OSA also suffered from nocturnal bruxism, commonly known as nighttime teeth grinding. It is estimated that approximately 10% of the US population suffers from bruxism which can lead to migraines, tension-type headaches, TMJ pain, and cracked or worn teeth.