Stop headaches in children

Child in the waiting roomAround half of children experience headaches and migraines at school, at home or in their free time. Almost 90,000 children are affected in Schleswig-Holstein. Six percent of them have headaches once a week or more often. Without early help, many of these children's headaches become more frequent or even permanent. The Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) in Schleswig-Holstein shows that there is an alternative to chronic pain and suffering with two courses: “Stop the Headache” and “Headache School”. The programs are run in collaboration with the Techniker Krankenkasse, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel from the Kiel Pain Clinic, teachers and resident therapists implemented it. The aim is to relieve headaches in children and at the same time reduce or even eliminate the need for medication.

Stop the headache

“Stop the Headache” is aimed at children and young people between the ages of eight and fourteen who already suffer from headaches or migraines. They should be provided with up-to-date advice and treatment across the country. The prerequisite for participation is a medical certificate stating that the child has been suffering from tension headaches or migraines for more than six months. The effectiveness of the program was proven in a study by the University of Göttingen: the number of headache days among the participating children can be significantly reduced through the treatment. Medication intake also decreased.

The courses are started as needed. They take place nationwide in cooperating specialist practices in Schleswig-Holstein. Further information is available from the course instructors. The addresses and further information can be found on our homepage. You can register directly.

If you have any questions, you can contact the organization telephone number of the Kiel Pain Clinic:
Telephone: 0431-20099-400 or by email: iv-netz@krebsklinik.de .

Headache School

BoyHeadaches are the most common health problem in school. A representative survey of schools found that, depending on the type of school, between 20 and 50% of students reported headaches as an important and persistent health problem. This survey also revealed clear evidence that headaches are a major reason for the development of addictive behavior and drug abuse. Due to the suffering that the headaches cause, the children can become receptive to trying drugs and try to improve their well-being in this way. Special knowledge about headache treatment and headache prevention is therefore of great importance in preventing drug addiction in children.

In view of these facts, primary school teacher Karin Frisch and neurologist Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel, Kiel Pain Clinic, developed a teaching unit that will be made available to teachers. To date, there are no measures or concepts to prevent headaches at school that are specifically aimed at teachers and students. Teachers, students and parents should be comprehensively informed in order to achieve greater awareness of headache disorders in school-age children. Knowledge about headache disorders, recognizing the different forms and passing on various behavioral measures can lead to headaches being recognized early and special measures being initiated, such as discussions with parents, involving specialists and doctors. The homepage provides all the necessary materials .