Migraines are headaches that cause, severe throbbing pain, or a pulsing sensation and they usually occur on one side of the head. They can also be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light. Some patients are prompted with a warning signal, which is known as an aura that occurs before the actual onset of the headache. The aura can cause visual disturbances, tingling on one side of the face or some people actually have difficulty speaking.
Western medicine will agree that while medications can prevent some migraines, or at least make them less painful, the right medicine accompanied with self-help remedies, lifestyle changes, and other modalities like acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can give the body what it needs to not just mask the symptoms, but cure it completely.
In Chinese medicine, we usually see two main scenarios or imbalances when it comes to migraine headaches. The first is hormonal imbalances, the second are patients with high stress.
Hormonal Imbalance
In Chinese medicine, issues can occur because of the Liver, Kidneys or the Spleen being out of balance and not being able to communicate properly with the brain. Figuring out the key organ system depends on other symptomatology and the nature of the migraine itself. The most common scenario is an imbalanced Liver. Stagnant Liver Qi can create tightness in the Liver organ and channel, over time in women this can look like menstrual cramps, PMS and headaches including migraines timed around the period. When there is too much stagnation and tightness present, the pressure travels upward resulting in a headache that usually follows the Gall Bladder channel; around the trapezius, the back of the neck and around the ear.
High Stress
When a migraine is caused by high stress, the scenario mentioned earlier is similar but can obviously happen in men or women. The same trajectory of pressure stems from tightness and stagnation, then maps around the Gall Bladder channel. Why the Gall Bladder channel? It’s because the Gall Bladder and the Liver are married, they are husband and wife, partners in crime, when there is a long-standing issue in the Liver, the Gall Bladder acts as an overflow to take the pressure off. This scenario commonly includes other symptoms such as upper back pain and/or tightness, insomnia, especially between the hours of 11pm-3am, overall irritability and possible digestive issues like constipation.
How to Treat Migraines with Chinese Medicine
Once we have deciphered the troubled organ, it is simply a matter of rerouting the energy. When energy and pressure are building and going upwards in the body, we attempt to change the direction and bring the energy down into the foundation. With acupuncture, although it might take a handle of sessions to retrain the body so it can sustain on it’s own, patients feel a difference right after the first treatment.
A series of treatments might look like this; let’s say we see a new patient who is in a flare up and struggling daily with a migraine headache, we might see that person for three days in a row to start. As their body is able to hold the sessions, we taper off. The following week we might see them twice, then once a week after that, and then every two weeks and so on. We have a saying at Tao to Wellness, “when the pain comes back, you come back”. So essentially, the work is listening carefully to what the body needs.
Chinese herbal medicine can also play a big part in assisting the patient to “hold and sustain the treatment” faster. By taking Chinese herbal medicine daily this will create subtle shifts and will remind the system to keep that balance, hereby staving off another headache or migraine.
Maintenance for Migraines
Once we’ve been able to re-balance the system and quell the crisis, the next step is to maintain. Overall, it’s much easier to prevent a migraine, then battling one once it’s in full force. And the longer we can prevent a migraine, the more attuned and balanced the body becomes naturally to where it doesn’t need ‘the reminder’ from acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine any longer.
If you struggle with migraines, and wonder if we would be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, we’d love to help in any way we can.
