The pain that headache and migraine sufferers endure can impact every aspect of their lives - but you knew that. What you may not have considered is that acupuncture can offer powerful relief without the side effects that prescription and over-the-counter drugs can cause. Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine have been used to relieve heaaches and migraines, as well as their underlying causes, for thousands of years and are widely accepted forms of treatment for headaches in our society. The World Health Organization has listed headaches and migraines as neurological conditions that acupuncture therapy can effectively treat.
Diagnosis with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
TCM does not recognize migraines and recurring headaches as one particular syndrome. Instead, it aims to treat the specific symptoms that are unique to each individual using a variety of techniques such as acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and tuina massage to restore imbalances found in the body. Your diagnosis and treatment will depend on a number of variables: Is the headache behind your eyes and temples, or is it located more on the top of the head? When do your headaches occur (i.e. night, morning, after eating)? Do you find that a cold compress or a dark room can alleviate some of the pain? Do you describe the pain as dull and throbbing, or sharp and piercing?
These questions will help create a clear picture on which your practitioner can create a treatment plan specifically for you. The basic foundation for Oriental medicine is that there is a life energy flowing through the body which is termed Qi (pronounced chee). This energy flows through the body on channels known as meridians that connect all of our major organs. According to Chinese medical theory, illness arises when the cyclical flow of Qi in the meridians becomes unbalanced. Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific points which have the ability to alter various biochemical and physiological conditions in order to achieve the desired effect - in this case pain relief.
Biomedical evidence
Migraine sufferers have been found to have a higher than normal levels of serum calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP), two chemiclas associated with expanded blood vessels and neurogenic inflammation. A study was published recently in the
Journal of Chinese Medicine which compared the mean levels of CGRP and SP in a non-headache group with the mean levels of the two chemicals in a group of migraine sufferers before and after acupuncture treatment. What the researchers found was a marked movement towards more normal levels of CGRP and SP in the migraine group after treatment. 1
Acupuncture treatment at ACUPUNCTURE ONE
The length, number and frequency of treatments will vary. Typical treatments last from 10 to 30 minutes, with the patient being treated one or two times a week. Some symptoms are relieved after the first treatment, while more severe or chronic ailments often require multiple treatments. At ACUPUNCTURE ONE, we will tailor for you an appropriate treatment plan utilizing acupuncture and Chinese herbal supplements to try to bring relief of this frustrating condition.
Reference
1 Li Wei, et al. "A Clinical Audit of the Treatment of Migraine with Acuopuncture", Journal of Chinese Medicine. #11, 2002, p.824-825.
Labels: acupuncture, headache, migraine, Qi
