First of all, he said cluster headaches are caused due to an imbalance in neurotransmitters which when not working right, cause blood vessel dialation in the brain ( huh ? don't pull out the women are nuts and complain of pain because of a chemical imbalance mister ! ) but i still sat and listened.
I'm making no distinction between Cluster headaches and Classical migraine, as I feel there may be a connection in the mechanism. Also, in the above post, some of the concepts seem to tally - if only loosely - with ideas I've posted on for many years.
The logic of the dilation got my attention because it's long been known that one of the phases of classical migraine is caused, or at least accompanied by, blood vessel dilation. I had wondered if the dilation was 'ordered' as a matter of extreme urgency, because of the natural clamping of the same blood supply having become excessive. So much seemed to fit, the deep down functioning-logic of the mind, ordering processes that are often counterproductive. (A perceived threat, albeit, long term worry.)
Muscle relaxant logic is interesting too, not least of all because of the Botox connection with stopping migraine before it starts. Very localized areas, but the relaxant would I suspect, ease such a locked up group of muscles.
I think the overall description of his theory was more than a little over simplified, but to really know what processes take place at all stages, seems to still be beyond researcher's ability to detect. And this is with fMRI and other advanced tomography. One of the problems is catching a subject while in the throws, so often the volunteers spend ages waiting to have a headache, only to give up and go home - with a headache.
So much will have to be derived from pure deduction and trials and I think it's important that many old concepts be put on hold, if not discarded. One of my neighbors has been a GP for 45 years, and she suffered menstrual migraine for part of that time. Nothing would convince her the blood vessels were not constricted, and I suspect she spent a lot of time during the episodes trying things to dilate them.
There's a huge amount to be said for the idea of starting with a clean sheet of paper, but like your daughter, the idea of not taking something to sooth the pain, is a very difficult concept to accept.