Lesser known migraine symptoms
I thought I knew what migraines were - crushing pain in the head, auras, throwing up, need to hide in a dark room, etc.
After reading this Migraine Guide from the NHS (UK Public Health service) I'm rather stunned to find out that there are a whole bunch of migraine symptoms that I've assumed were Fibromyalgia.
There's a whole section on how migraine is a nerve disorder in the brain (the older hypothesis that migraines resulted from the constriction and dilation of blood vessels has been largely debunked by modern research). This disorder causes a migraine cascade in the brain, and one of the main symptoms of this is Amplification of nerve signals (increased awareness of sensations from inside the body or the environment).
'This increased awareness of normal body sensation in migraine can mean that normal sensation is amplified to cause a feeling of tingling or soreness of the skin, as well as pain and tenderness in various parts of the body, including the chest, abdomen, pelvis, neck, joints or muscles.'
'The trigeminal nucleus receives input from a network of nerves that includes nerves from the face and forehead, the meninges (lining of the brain) and the neck / shoulders, but is not good at pin pointing where sensations have come from. This is the reason why the abnormal brain nerve activity may cause someone with migraine to experience symptoms that appear to come from anywhere in the face, head, neck or shoulders. Symptoms related to this effect may include pain, stiffness, numbness, tenderness, muscle tightness and spasm, and extreme sensitivity to even light touch.'
So now I'm wondering- maybe seeking treatment for migraines is a path worth exploring further.
In case you're a migraine sufferer, this might be worth a read:
Posted Jan 14, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC