Migraine is an episodic disorder which is often disabling both during and between attacks. While pain intensity is the most important symptom to individual sufferers, headache-related disability is the major determinant of the economic impact of illness. Because migraine is underdiagnosed and under-treated, cost-effective healthcare interventions could serve to reduce the burden of illness on individual sufferers and society. Measures which assess both pain intensity and disability might serve to capture the essential elements of migraine and provide the basis for effective healthcare interventions.