"Terri Bradford has suffered debilitating headaches all her life. Some days the pain is so bad she says By  oclock in the morning Im on the couch in a darkened room with my head packed in ice. Ive had two spinal taps Ive had so many nerve blocks Ive lost count. Terri Bradford Over the years Bradford who is  years old and lives in Bedford Mass. has searched desperately for pain relief. Shes been to the doctor countless times for countless tests. Everything Ive had Ive had twice she says. Ive had two spinal taps Ive had so many nerve blocks Ive lost count. Bradford is not alone. Its estimated that every year  million Americans go to the doctor seeking help for headaches. Nearly one quarter of the population suffers from recurrent severe tension headaches or migraines http People who go to the doctor for headaches are increasingly likely to be sent for advanced testing and treatment a study http finds. That testing is expensive it may not be necessary and it could even be harmful says lead researcher Dr. John Mafi of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center http in Boston. Mafi looked at the rates of advanced imaging like CT scans and MRIs in people with headaches as well as referrals to other doctors presumably specialists. He found that from  to  the number of diagnostic tests rose from . percent of all doctor visits to . percent. At the same time referrals to other doctors increased from . percent to . percent. In other words almost double what it was a decade ago. Mafi says this isnt because more people are suffering headaches. The headache rate has remained virtually the same over the past decade. But what has changed is supply and demand. Today there are a lot more advanced diagnostic machines than there were a decade ago and more patients are asking to be tested. Article continues after this message from our sponsor Theres a subconscious perception that fancier more expensive tests are better and that equals better care. Dr. John Mafi Patients are more assertive than ever before Mafi says. They do research online are more informed and sometimes go to the doctor demanding I think I need an MRI.  And while an informed patient is a good thing Mafi says sometimes the patient gets it wrong. I think theres a subconscious perception that more is better and that fancier more expensive tests are better and that equals better care. Mafis study did not include patients with tumors or other serious problems that can cause headaches. He only looked at otherwise healthy patients who suffered chronic headaches. And in these cases repeated diagnostic testing can lead to further unnecessary procedures like biopsies. On top of that exposure to radiation in tests like CT scans adds up over time and can increase the risk of certain cancers. For Terri Bradford the years of searching for effective treatment proved futile. Ive been to four neurologists. A lot of them have given up on me because I havent gotten any better she says. Eventually Bradford ended up at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where neurologist Carolyn Bernstein http directs the Comprehensive Headache Center http Bernstein says she sees lots of desperate patients like Bradford. The majority of them have really been suffering a number of years and theyre really miserable with the pain Bernstein says. They say  I hope you have a magic pill and of course there is no magic pill. There is just no single reason why people get chronic headaches although we do know that migraines have a genetic component and usually a trigger. If you are a migraine sufferer and I expose you to the right trigger youre going to have a migraine Bernstein says. But the triggers are different for different people. They can include poor diet too much sugar or certain types of alcohol. Problems sleeping stress lack of exercise or a combination of any number of these things can cause chronic headaches. At the headache center patients receive a thorough medical history that includes headache patterns disability and mood assessments. Then the center works with patients to try to identify what triggers their headaches and how they can avoid those triggers in the future. Some people find relief through exercise. I write an exercise prescription probably as often as I write a prescription for medication Bernstein says. She acknowledges its sometimes difficult to encourage a patient with cracking head pain to get up and exercise. But even a little can help and according to Bernstein it doesnt have to be jogging for miles and miles. It can be yoga tai chi or even just a little stretching. A big lifestyle adjustment worked for Terri Bradford. She started exercising and changed her diet giving up gluten dairy and sugar. And she learned how to meditate to reduce stress. All these changes she says have made a huge difference. She has far fewer headaches and when she does have them theyre far less severe. Im finally healing she says."