– It is very painful at times, both physically and mentally. Kenneth Worpvik from Trondheim has struggled with migraines ever since he was a child. It got even worse a few years ago when he also ended up with cluster headaches, which are characterized by severe, cutting or bursting pain in or around one eye. – It is very intense and disabling. I am put out for long periods and the quality of life becomes very, very bad. One in many 900,000 Norwegians struggles with some form of headache, and worldwide, a recent study has shown that roughly half the globe suffers. Worpvik says that in addition to the pain, he often has a bad conscience for his children and his partner, since he is not always able to be involved in everything. The fact that it is only something that is felt on the inside, and not something that is shown externally, also troubles Worpvik. – That is perhaps one of the most difficult things. That the understanding may not be fully present for those of us who have an invisible illness. If you had had a broken foot, it might have been easier to have compassion for it. Fortunately for him and many others, a new research center can now provide relief. Expensive for society Erling Tronvik is research leader at the Norwegian Center for Headache Research (NorHead), which is now opening in Trondheim. – We can do advanced research on headache diseases. We can provide treatment, carry out research and teaching. This is where the hope lies in that the center can create enough good research and treatment so that fewer people will struggle with pain. – We will collect all good headache research in Norway. Then we will use our joint efforts to create new treatment, new tools for patients and doctors, and we will learn more about the headache diseases and perhaps come up with new knowledge. There are over 200 different headache disorders. Not only are headaches painful, but they also cost society large sums of money. – In Norway alone, it costs society NOK 11 billion a year, says Tronvik. Research leader Erling Tronvik hopes the new center will contribute to better treatment for headache complaints in the future. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news – Gives a little hope Kenneth Worpvik is very happy with the offer he now gets at St. Olav. The treatment room is lit up in green, which means that the headache should be triggered as little as possible. – It is pleasant to be here. Just the fact that there is a dedicated separate room, I think is very nice. It’s a calm atmosphere and you meet people who understand what I’m going through. He is happy that more money and resources are now being spent on headache research, and his dream is that perhaps one day there will be something that can cure his tormentors for good. – It gives a little hope.
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Many Norwegians struggle with headaches – St. Olav’s hospital opens new research center – news Trøndelag
