Headache and migraine

Headache is one of the most common health complaints. The pain can range from a mild, pressing headache to a severe migraine attack with nausea and hypersensitivity to light or sound. Some people have a headache now and then, while others experience complaints weekly or even daily.

Headache can have a major impact on daily life. Working, exercising, concentrating or relaxing often becomes more difficult when the complaints keep returning.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been used for centuries for various forms of headache. Chinese medicine looks not only at the pain itself, but above all at the factors that cause the complaints to arise or keep coming back.

Western conditions in which headache plays a role

Headache is a symptom and can have various causes. Among other things, it occurs with:

In many people, however, no clear physical abnormality is found. Even without a specific diagnosis, recurring headache can have a major impact on daily functioning.

Possible causes

There are many factors that can contribute to the development of headache. Sometimes there is one clear cause, but often several factors play a role at the same time.

Common causes are:

People often notice that the headache keeps returning under similar circumstances. Recognising these factors can help you to understand the complaints better.

What can acupuncture do?

Acupuncture is aimed at supporting the body's natural capacity for recovery and regulating bodily functions that can play a role in recurring headache. The treatment is tailored to your personal situation and can be adjusted over the course of the treatment when your complaints change.

Many people experience noticeable relaxation during or immediately after a treatment. For long-standing or regularly recurring headache, several treatments are usually needed to build up a stable result.

Depending on your complaints, a treatment can be aimed at:

What can Chinese herbal medicine do?

Chinese herbs are often used as a complement to acupuncture. Where acupuncture offers support during the treatment, herbs continue to work daily in between treatments. The herbal formula is tailored to your personal situation and can be adjusted over the course of the treatment.

Depending on the cause of the headache, Chinese herbs can offer support with:

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine regularly complement each other and are therefore often combined.

How does Chinese medicine view headache?

In Western medicine the diagnosis is often central, such as migraine or tension headache. Chinese medicine, in addition, looks at which bodily functions have become out of balance and how various complaints are connected.

For headache, the Liver organ system in particular plays an important role. This organ system is not the same as the liver in Western medicine, but describes a collection of functions that are involved, among other things, in allowing bodily processes to run smoothly and in dealing with stress and emotions. In some forms of headache the Spleen organ system (involved in digestion) and the Kidney organ system (involved in building up energy and nourishing the body over the long term) also play a role. Each organ system, like every other organ system in Chinese medicine, is connected to a meridian along which, according to this view, Qi and Blood circulate through the body.

When one or more organ systems function less well, a recognisable combination of complaints often arises. Such a combination of symptoms is called a pattern in Chinese medicine. As a result, two people with the same form of headache can nevertheless receive a different treatment. The patterns that occur most often with headache are:

Stress and tension (Liver Qi stagnation)

Stress and prolonged tension can cause processes in the body to run less smoothly. This is one of the most common patterns in recurring headache.

Common features are:

Rising Liver Yang or Heat (Liver)

When stress persists for a longer time, the headache can become more intense. The pain is often throbbing and sometimes goes together with a red face or dizziness.

Common features are:

Damp and Phlegm (Spleen)

In some people headache is associated with a less well functioning digestion (Spleen). This can cause a heavy or foggy feeling in the head.

Common features are:

Deficiency of Qi, Blood or Yin (Spleen and Kidney)

When the body has insufficient energy, blood or nutrients to nourish the head properly — often due to a reduced function of the Spleen and Kidney — a more dull form of headache often arises.

Common features are:

Blood stasis

After a fall, whiplash or prolonged neck tension, local circulation can become disrupted.

Common features are:

Prognosis

The prognosis depends on the cause of the headache, how long the complaints have existed and general health.

With recent complaints, many people notice improvement within a few treatments. When the headache has already existed for a longer time or recurs regularly, a longer treatment period is often needed. Over the course of the treatment, the treatment is adjusted to the changes in your complaints.

In addition to acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, sufficient sleep, regular exercise, relaxation, a good working posture and recognising personal triggers can also contribute to a lasting recovery.

Contact

Do you suffer from headache or migraine and would you like to know whether acupuncture can mean something for you? During a first consultation we discuss your complaints, medical history and any underlying factors in detail. On that basis a treatment plan is drawn up that suits your situation. You can book an appointment online right away or get in touch for more information.

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