Complete Treatment Centre
AIM is a dedicated centre for Migraine in Australia. We are thrilled to bring this unique, patient centered since the very inception of the idea to the future, co-designed with the help of patients and families with fifteen high quality headache experts and multi-disciplinary team under the same rooftop with virtual access to the patients from all corners from Australia as we continue expand our services nationally.
Clinical assessments and therapeutic interventions, clinical research, education programs (local, regional, national and international) and training opportunities (including intern placements and student placements), expert consultative services, face to face and online consultations and interventions for the patients with post-concussion issues (A.I.M. collaborate with the A.F.L. concussion program nationally).
A.I.M research and education
Our Services
Our Specialty areas
Nursing
Headache nurses can play a significant role in migraine and headache management by identifying patients and offering them support, empathy, and advice. Many patients will benefit from information about the correct use of over-the-counter products, trigger factors or use of other migraine-specific treatments.
There were no dedicated migraine or headache nurses in Australia until now. AIM is looking to provide the avenue for nurses to focus only on helping migraine patients.
Neurology
Neurologists specialise in disorders of the nervous system, including the brain. Migraine is the most common neurological disorder with significant disability. A neurologist interested in headache medicine can help make an accurate diagnosis of Migraine and rule out any other potential neurological condition that may cause similar symptoms.
Our neurologists are knowledgeable about the latest advancements in treatments and can help develop an appropriate treatment plan and fine-tune any medications that may be helpful for you.
Rehabilitation
Chronic Migraine is an enigma. Most people do not well understand this disorder. Sometimes even neurologists and headache experts! Millions of patients suffer from Migraine due to the intense and debilitating symptoms that run over days, such as prodrome, aura, acute attacks, and postdrome, with varying effects on different individuals. No two migraine patients behave in the same way.
The A.I.M. is dedicated to a multidisciplinary approach through in-depth evaluation and comprehensive treatment.
Exercise Physiology
The current evidence suggests that aerobic exercise therapy decreases the number of migraine days in patients with Migraine. Early evidence indicates that aerobic exercise can reduce pain intensity or duration of migraine attacks. A.I.M. aspire to collaborate with Professor Itamar Levinger (an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (A.E.P.), a world leader who developed extensive knowledge, skills and experience in the area of exercise rehabilitation for patients with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as muscle function, structure and metabolism and cell signalling in humans and murine models.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy could potentially reduce musculoskeletal impairments related to neck pain prevalent in some patients. Vestibular symptoms (dizziness, off-balance feeling) and postural control impairment could also be addressed when present to optimise function and reduce the presence and severity of vestibular symptoms.
A.I.M. is collaborating with Professor Meg Morris of the Clinical & Rehabilitation Practice at La Trobe University. She is best known for her ground-breaking studies on dancing for Parkinson's; she is ranked in the top 5 physiotherapists worldwide for Parkinson's and related conditions. She is now looking at migraine and the role of physiotherapy.
Occupational Therapy
A previous study showed that for those patients who completed four or more sessions of O.T. for headache management, increases in self-management skills, physical abilities, emotional functioning, and overall quality of life were found, all while having decreases in average pain levels and functional impact on activities in daily life. The results indicate that O.T. can significantly provide effective treatment for patients with headaches. Therefore, they should consistently be part of the regular care plan for patients with headaches and should be stapled members of multidisciplinary headache care teams.
Neuro-psychology
Research has shown that Migraine affects verbal, visuospatial memory, and selective attention tasks. Cognitive impairments observed in migraineurs have been found to occur during a migraine attack, after the attack, and even when the individual does not exhibit any residual effects of the attack. Individuals with Migraine are at a greater risk of developing anxiety and depression.
A/Professor Leila Karimi, an accredited statistician and an experienced researcher in psychology and psychometrics has a strong research focus aimed at improving the quality of patient care.
Psychiatry
In large scale, population-based studies, persons with Migraine are from 2.2 to 4.0 times more likely to have depression. In longitudinal studies, the evidence supports a bidirectional relationship between Migraine and depression, with each disorder increasing the risk of the other disorder.
Our C.E.O., Dr Dilani Wijeratne, senior Psychiatrist and the A.I.M. team aspire to support future studies needed to facilitate the development of clinical guidelines for risk assessment, targeted interventions, and evidence-based treatment of Migraine related psychiatric commodities to reduce the risk of suicide among this vulnerable population.
Psychology
Psychological factors such as catastrophising of pain are common in Migraine and, along with depression and anxiety, contribute significantly to a migraine-related disability, according to published studies in the past. The goal is to identify factors that could serve as treatment targets to improve migraine frequency and reduce migraine-related disability
With Professor Paul Martin and Dr Litza Kiropoulos A.I.M. aspire to launch our ACTION-MIGRAINE portal in 2022.
Visual-science
Vision drives 90% of our behaviour as humans. We are already working with Eyetelligence
to support clinical decision making in neurological disorders such as Migraine as a world first collaborative program. We will develop game-changing technology-based solutions as we progress to the future.
Optometry
Our collaborators such as Professor Algis J Vingrys, PhD, BSc(Optom), PGCertOcTher, FARVO, FAAO has had a major interest in the role that new technology (MRF vision tests ) and home-monitoring can have in vision and disease detection and monitoring for some time, pertaining to; AMD, Diabetes, Glaucoma, Neurological disorders and Migraine. We have been pioneering community optometry services in Migraine and other headache disorders for several years now. A.I.M. aspire to drive these novel functional vision tests across the nation as we deal with Australia's leading cause of disability. Contact us to know how you can collaborate as an optometry service or an academic department.
Neuro-science
Migraine is a whole nervous system disease. Talk to a migraine patient or a family member. They will convince you within minutes. How can the disease (in particular the migraine attack and chronic Migraine) be approached mechanistically through the lens of systems neuroscience? Our overall goal is to increase awareness of this under-studied disease in the neuroscientific community by viewing it through the lens of modern systems neuroscience. A.I.M. is determined to connect all the dots and put these systems and scientific community together- this will be done with the overarching co-designed methodology.
