Migraine Sufferers Find Relief Using Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
Migraines are a debilitating condition and they can strike at any age. Thankfully acupuncture, acupressure, and Chinese herbal medicine are immensely helpful in reducing the frequency, intensity, and duration of migraines — for both adults and children!
A 2012 review of studies indicates that acupuncture is at least as effective as preventive migraine medication. A 2022 study shows that Chinese herbal medicine is effective at reducing migraine frequency, duration, and pain severity. In combination, acupuncture or acupressure along with Chinese herbal medicine is a powerful combination for migraine relief.
Migraines have a number of causes, but frequently in the clinic we see links to hormonal shifts, stress levels, and sleep disturbance.
Hormonal Migraines
Many girls and women notice that migraines occur regularly during the week before their period arrives and can last into the start of their period. Some prepubescent girls experience migraines as their hormones are shifting in advance of puberty starting. In either cases the migraines cause significant disruption to daily lives including ability to attend school and work.
When we suspect that hormonal fluctuations are behind the occurrence of migraines we focus our acupuncture treatments on regulating hormonal health and reducing stress levels (which can highly impact the release of other hormones). We also provide Chinese herbal medicines that help to regulate hormones and relieve stress. We find that typically after 2-4 sessions, clients are seeing improvement in migraine symptoms, and we have had many clients who achieve continued migraine relief after 4-8 sessions.
Stress Migraines
Chronic stress and high levels of intermittent stress can wreak havoc on the body. Even when we do our best to manage stress with exercise, proper diet, and personal practices like meditation, breathwork, and journaling, sometimes our life circumstances still get the best of us.
Acupuncture and acupressure are known for their ability to bring the body from a sympathetic “fight or flight” nervous system state into a parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system state. Once our bodies are more relaxed, proper blood flow and proper hormonal cascades can often resume.
In cases of stress migraines we often also work to relieve tension in the neck, upper back, and shoulders, as chronic tightness in these regions can trigger tension headaches and also hinder the body from relaxing completely.
Lastly, we use Chinese herbal medicines that relieve stress and improve blood flow to the head to support migraine relief.
Sleep-Induced / Insomnia Migraines
For some migraine sufferers, one of the primary triggers is a lack of sleep. Many factors contribute to insomnia, so we use a customized approach for each person to help them regularize their sleep as best possible.
In these cases we will often use a variety of approaches with acupuncture/acupressure and herbal medicine to both improve sleep and then to reduce likelihood of migraines.
How to Get Help
If you have been struggling with migraines relief is around the corner. We help people of all ages by using acupressure only for children and acupuncture for most adults. Chinese herbal medicine is safe for all ages. Feel free to contact us via email, phone, or text to learn more about how we can help. Here’s to your health!
