To mark Headache Awareness Week, The Headache Clinic hosts seminar in Gauteng

To commemorate Headache Awareness Week (6^th- 12^th June), The Headache Clinic will be hosting an education seminar in Gauteng on Thursday 30^th June to provide expert information, support and advice to people affected by headaches. This seminar will be totally free of charge and doctors will obtain 4 CPD points if they attend.

The education seminar at Wits University will include a talk from Dr Manney Orelowitz a consulting neurologist from Jozi who specializes in headache diagnosis and treatment. He will be discussing the warning signs for life threatening headaches. Dr Elliot Shevel the medical director of The Headache Clinic and chairman of the SA Headache Society will be giving a talk on the importance of having safe and effective procedures to relieve the extreme symptoms of chronic headache. A demonstration of simple stretching exercises by Nita Hargovan (a physiotherapist who specializes in headache treatment) and how this can help headache sufferers to ease the pain of headache. Other topics to be covered are the different types of headaches. Why taking over the counter medication is bad for you and how complementary therapies and lifestyle changes can benefit headache sufferers.

 About 20% of the population gets a headache some time in their life – that means over a billion people worldwide at some point get headaches. This percentage has been shown to be constant across races, cultures and income groups. Headache does not discriminate. In SA, a country of 49 million people this equates to about 10 million headache sufferers of all races, colors, creeds, and income groups. IHAW takes place from 6^th – 12^th June and its main aim is to raise worldwide awareness about this widely misdiagnosed condition.

Dr Elliot Shevel says “Despite the fact that headache is such a common condition, many people usually suffer in silence. Often they do not seek help, believing that their headache will not be taken seriously, or wrongly believing that there is nothing that can be done to help. We hope this Headache Clinic event will encourage people to stop suffering in silence. They can come along to a friendly and informal evening, learn more about the condition and pick up practical tips and advice.  They will also have the opportunity to share their experiences with other local people affected which is an important part of the day.”

The education seminar will be taking place on the 30^th June at the Linder Auditorium on the Wits University Education Campus (27 St Andrew’s Road, Parktown in Johannesburg) 18:30 for 19:00. Pre-booking is essential as space is limited. For more information and to book a place, please email The Headache Clinic on lee@headacheclinic.co.za .