Acupuncture for Migraines
Migraines go beyond simple headaches, transforming into incapacitating bouts of pain that interfere with everyday activities. For those dealing with this issue, finding effective relief becomes crucial. Among the many treatment options are acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.
Before delving into the effectiveness of acupuncture, it is crucial to understand the complex nature of migraines. These neurological conditions are characterized by severe headaches, commonly accompanied by symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Despite continuous research, the exact cause of migraines is still unknown, with genetic, environmental, and neurochemical factors believed to play a role in their development.
The Western medicine approach to managing migraines typically integrates medications, and pain management techniques that can offer relief to some individuals, but others may find them ineffective or burdened with adverse effects.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been used for thousands of years for various conditions. The West has helped show the beneficial effects of acupuncture for many pain-related conditions including migraines. With TCM being based on the principle of restoring the body's balance, the first approach in any treatment of migraines is to get a full overview of an individual health, lifestyle and wellbeing. This helps to establish the root cause of the migraines within a Chinese medicine framework, which then helps to establish a treatment plan.
There are many ways in which Acupuncture and or Chinese Herbal Medicine can assist with migraines. From a Western point of view, acupuncture has been shown to help to stimulate the release of neurotransmitters like endorphins and serotonin, triggering analgesic effects and modulating pain perception. Additionally, acupuncture has been show to help regulate blood circulation and mitigate inflammation, addressing underlying factors contributing to migraines. From a traditional Chinese medicine point of view, acupuncture and herbal medicine can not only treat the pain being experienced but rectify the imbalance resulting in the experience of migraines.
What to expect in a treatment: Treatments vary depending on the cause of the individual's migraines, commonly acupuncture will be applied to points relating to the diagnosis to help restore balance and decrease migraine prevalence while additional modalities may be used to support this, such as cupping, gua sha, electrical stimulation, lifestyle advice and herbs as well as motor point acupuncture (where electrical stimulation is placed on the needles at particular junctions of a muscle), in particular for cases where there may be nerve entrapment involvement.
Clinical Evidence: Numerous studies have investigated the efficacy of acupuncture in migraine treatment, yielding promising results. A meta-analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that acupuncture was associated with a significant reduction in migraine frequency compared to sham acupuncture or conventional medication alone [1]. In addition, acupuncture has demonstrated its effectiveness in improving anxiety and depression among migraine patients when compared to Western medicine and sham acupuncture (which does not target real acupuncture points) [2].
for any migraine sufferers in and around Manly who are interested in options such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, feel free to contact us with any questions, or book in for a consultation.
[1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1357513