The acupuncture treatment of headaches and migraines has been extensively researched, and a systematic review of the evidence by the Cochrane collaboration concluded that for migraine acupuncture treatment is at least as effective, or possible more effective than treatment with drugs, but without the side effects. They also found that treatment by acupuncture was effective for chronic tension-type headaches.
According to the theories of Chinese medicine, pain is caused by stagnation. In the ancient language of acupuncture, headaches and migraine are caused by 'Qi Stagnation' around the head and possibly neck.
There are many ways of categorising headaches and migraine according to the Chinese theory. The location, nature of the pain, severity, and accompanying symptoms are all used to get a detailed picture of what is causing the attacks. The acupuncturist will also ask about your general health, take your pulse and look at your tongue.
All of this information is then used to determine your Chinese Diagnosis. This is a very precise way of looking at the causes of your headaches or migraines, and it allows the acupuncturist to work out a treatment that is specific to your symptoms, and overall health.
Headaches are often related to stress or can occur along-side fatigue, muscular pains or insomnia and migraines are often accompanied by nausea, dizziness and aversion to bright lights. In all of these cases, acupuncture can be used to treat the root cause of the problem as well as dealing with the manifestation.
In many cases tight muscles in the neck and shoulders can contribute or even cause headaches or migraine, and acupuncture can be useful to relax the muscles and often has dramatic effects. If you have held tension in these muscles for some time you may not even realise that they are the cause of the problem. Some acupuncturists may also use Tui Na (Chinese massage) alongside the acupuncture treatment.
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