ADDRESS

894 Summit St., Suite 109
Round Rock, TX 78664

PHONE

512-341-9900

Acupuncture for Headache and Migraine Pain

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Headache & Migraine Pain

Can Acupuncture Help My Head Pain?

There are many types of headaches: Tension and cluster headaches; Frontal, occipital, vertex, and temporal headaches; Post-concussion, post-traumatic, migraines, stress and disease-related headaches that might be due to sinus problems, high blood pressure or sleeping disorders. More than 50 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches and according to the National Headache Foundation, as many as 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches each year. Medication, such as aspirin and ibuprophen, remains the mainstay of treatment, but drugs only affect the symptom, not the root cause of the problem. The greatest advantage of acupuncture over Western medicine is that it has virtually no side effects, unlike some medications that can have serious side effects for some people, including nausea, diarrhea, flatulence and burning sensations.

For most people, headaches occur infrequently and over-the-counter pain medicine is adequate. But for people that experience chronic headaches or migraines, occuring daily to several days a month, acupuncture can help. In Oriental Medicine, eight meridians traverse the head, sending Qi and Blood from the organs. If this circulation of Qi and Blood to the head is blocked, then pain occurs. Outside factors, such as wind, damp, heat or cold can attack the head causing headaches. Other factors can cause headaches such as a Qi and Blood deficiency in the body, or an excess of Yang. Acupuncture is a method for releasing your body’s own natural painkillers. The National Institutes of Health recommends acupuncture as a viable treatment for chronic headaches.

Can Acupuncture Help Migraine Pain Too?

Migraines can be debilitating. They can be dull or throbbing, lasting for several hours or longer, and are sometimes associated with loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound, and blurring of vision. Research has shown that Oriental Medicine may help stop migraines in their tracks. Patients often have a family history of migraines. Migraines can be caused by a variety of physical and environmental factors, including diet, emotional or physical stress, allergens, menstruation, changes in the weather, lack or excess of sleep, missed meals, specific foods (e.g., chocolate), alcoholic beverages, or use of oral contraceptives.

Oriental Medicine 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, herbal medicine, or Tuina (a type of therapeudic massage), to restore imbalances found in the body.

What Studies Have Been Done to Show that Acupuncture Can Help With Headache and Migraine Pain?

A 2002 study, published in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, included 50 patients presenting with various types of headaches that were treated with scalp acupuncture. The results showed that 98% of patients treated with acupuncture experienced no headaches or only occasional, mild headaches in the six months following care.

A 2003 study, published in the journal Medical Acupuncture, found that acupuncture resulted in the resolution or reduction in the frequency and severity of cluster headaches, and a decrease or discontinuation of medications. It was concluded that acpuncture can be used to provide sustained relief from cluster headaches.

A 2005 study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that acupuncture cut tension headache rates almost in half.

A 2008 study, published in the journal Headache, confirms that acupuncture significantly reduces migraines and works better that drugs alone.

Another 2008 study, published in the journal Cephalalgia, shows that people who suffer from chronic migraines may benefit from acupuncture to reduce the severity and frequency of their headaches. The study included 1613 patients that were assigned to receive acupuncture in 15 sessions over 3 months. After 6 months, these patients reported significant reductions and less frequency in headache pain.

A comprehensive review, conducted by Duke University Medical Center, researched all available data done to date, using only the most rigorously-executed trials, included more than 30 studies and nearly 4,000 patients who reported migraines, tension headaches and other forms of chronic headaches. The study concluded that acupuncture is more effective than medication in reducing the severity and frequency of chronic headaches.

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