Eastern Medicine Approach to Headaches

Headaches and migraines are a chronic problem for nearly 30 million men and women in the United States. The pain can be debilitating and can affect every aspect of your life.

Eastern medicine regards headaches as a broad category of ailments, not just as one syndrome. In order to pinpoint the cause of your headaches and to create an effective treatment plan, we will ask a number of questions about the specific nature of your pain. Is it the top of your head that hurts, or the temples? When do your headaches occur — morning, night time, or during certain weather patterns? Is the pain sharp and piercing, or dull and throbbing? The answers to these and other questions will help us determine the best acupoints to use for treating your condition.

Western medical science does not have a clear answer for why headaches or migraines occur, but it is believed to be related to imbalances in brain chemicals such as serotonin. Eastern medicine offers a somewhat similar explanation — energy, called Qi, flows through your body and keeps you healthy. But Qi can sometimes become imbalanced and stagnant, causing pain. Acupuncture is used to unblock Qi, letting it flow smoothly again and relieving your pain.

Headache Case Study

Sophie, a 26 year-old woman, had suffered from headaches since she was a child. Her headaches started at the back of the neck, then traveled to her eyes, temples, and jaw. They lasted up to 2 days.

After feeling her pulse, which was slightly weak, and discovering that she was a restless sleeper with a high-stress lifestyle, we diagnosed her with “Gan Qi stagnation.” Her body was unable to rest properly, and over time this caused her energy to stagnate and result in headaches.

We treated her over the course of eight weeks using acupuncture points located on the legs and big toe. These points lie on a meridian that connects to the Gan internal system. Using acupuncture and acupressure massage at these points, we were able to relax her body, restore the flow of Qi, and relieve her headaches.

Medical Research on Headaches

Headaches are one of the most studied applications of Eastern medicine. A team at Duke University recently conducted a review of studies involving nearly 4,000 patients with migraine, tension headache, and other forms of chronic headache. They found that 62% of the acupuncture patients reported relief, compared to 45% of people taking medications such as aspirin.

The study, published in Anesthesia and Analgesia, found it took on average five to six visits for patients to report headache relief.

Headache Research Links:
Regimens: Acupuncture Provides Headache Relief, New York Times
Acupuncture Beats Headaches, The Guardian
Acupuncture Beats Aspirin for Chronic Headache, Reuters

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