Acupuncture For Migraines Treatment Guide

by Dr. Wei Hung

---

Posted on 17-09-2020 10:53 PM

---

---

Acupuncture For Migraines Guide

Acupuncture for migraines is among the earliest medical methods on the planet, practiced in China for over 2,000 years. Acupuncture is an FDA approved treatment technique for a variety of diseases, particularly pain management and chronic pain, and is especially efficient in dealing with migraines.

Headaches can really ruin your day. Whether they’re migraines, tension-type or sinus headaches they are the absolute worst. Spinal manipulation adjustments, specific exercise and massage therapy are all part of the guidelines for the treatment of headaches, but did you know acupuncture for migraies can also help? Acupuncture has been proven to help reduce the intensity, duration and frequency of migraine headaches.

Acupuncture treatment can also decrease the number of painkillers that headache sufferers have to take, and that is always a good thing. Migraine headaches can be effectvely treated by using acupuncture for migraines. This was found after a relative study was finished with conventional treatment. In many cases, it even avoids it from occurring which assists to enhance the lifestyle for the patient. To comprehend how acupuncture assists migraine victims, you need to comprehend that in conventional Chinese medicine, it is thought that an imbalance in the circulation of blood and energy causes this to take place.

Acupuncture For Migraine Treatment

Acupuncture for migraines has actually been practiced in the United States for several years now. Tests have actually revealed how reliable it can be to treat chronic conditions and specific dependencies, More studies require to be done to see where else it can be beneficial.

One test has actually shown that acupuncture can assist migraines. Other tests will likewise actually be done to show if this is consistent among sufferers. Up until such time that other studes are released, patients should discuss this alternative treatment with thier physician.  However, if you get migraines, you may know that acupuncture for migraines is often cited as a treatment that can help.

A study reported in the Journal Of The American Medical Association adds to the positive buzz for this alternative therapy. Chinese researchers say that when acupuncture is given properly along with electrical stimulation, it may reduce the number of migraine attacks in people who get the most common or episodic form of the painful headaches. There are many positive and negative studies about the effectiveness of the treatment for treating migraines and headaches. If you’re a chronic sufferer, acupuncture for migraines can provide an excellent alternative to complement your medical treatments.

Many acupuncture practitioners deal with patients to form a treatment strategy that attends to both the obstructions themselves and the important things that cause them. These treatment strategies, like those of Western Medicine, typically consist of diet and way of life modifications to improve the patients' wellness.

Acupuncture is a well-known component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM has been practiced for thousands of years and includes the use of herbal medicines and mind-body practices. In the U.S.A., acupuncture is generally perceived as complementary to Western medical treatment. This alternative treatment may be effective in managing certain pain conditions, including migraine headache. 

Acupuncture For Migraines Points

Acupuncture for migraines points is important to treatment. This important part of acupuncture and TCM is the concept of qi. Qi (pronounced “chee”) is the vital energy that animates the body and protects it from illness. It flows through pathways called meridians and provides nourishment to all the body’s organs. When there is an imbalance or blockage in the flow of qi, physical symptoms may result. Stagnation of qi may be the cause of your headaches.

Individuals who experience migraine headaches should inform their acupuncturist precisely where they hurt when seeing one for pain mitigation. The place of pain is very important due to the a great deal of acupuncture points in the head, face, and neck. Where to use pressure depends upon where the migraine pain is most severe.

If you suffer with migraine headaches, you can discover long-lasting remedy for your migraines by dealing with an acupuncturist who focuses on headaches. These experts do a customized evaluation of the patient to develop a long-lasting treatment strategy. Lots of people who go through an acupuncture program like this experience remedy for migraines for several years. For some the headaches stop totally.

During acupuncture treatment for migraines, in order to restore the balance and flow of qi, your acupuncturist will insert fine sterile needles at specific acupuncture points along the meridian pathways. Based on your unique symptoms, your acupuncturist will choose to concentrate on acupuncture points related to specific organs. Afterwards, your acupuncturist may prescribe a variety of self-care techniques further expedite your healing process.

Below you will find some of the more common TCM diagnoses and acupuncture treatment protocols for headaches and related conditions such as migraines. There are many ways to treat this condition with Eastern medicine and our presentation is only one of many possible options. Headaches may be diagnosed generally by looking at the nature of the pain, what makes the pain better or worse and the location of the pain. If the pain is dull it is likely from deficiency, whereas sharp pain is likely from excess. If the pain is better with rest it is likely from deficiency, whereas if it is improved with movement it is likely from stagnation. Locating which channels are near the pain will also aid in the selection of proper treatment points.

Acupuncture For Migraine Pain Relief

Migraines take place primarily due to the constraint of capillary near the brain. A migraine is triggered by the enhancement of the temporal artery, which is the artery that rests on the skull and under the skin of your forehead. When this artery expands, it extends nerves around it and they in turn release specific chemicals. These chemicals are the reason for the pain that is called a migraine.  They likewise cause the artery to increase the size of the pain. Migraines are simply a nonstop circle of misery.

The study reported in JAMA followed 249 people who get migraines without aura. These were divided into three groups. Group one received true acupuncture with electrical stimulation in 30-minute sessions, five days a week, for four weeks. Group two received imitation acupuncture. Group three was placed on a waiting list for treatment. Participants were followed for 20 weeks after receiving the treatments. Those in the true acupuncture group had fewer migraines per month.

Some individuals have headaches so regularly that they just find how to cope with them and handle the pain as well as possible. Still others have headaches, such as migraines, which are difficult to neglect and end up being life changing because of their strength. As a result of these headaches, many individuals have actually turned acupuncture in order to discover some remedy for their suffering.

There are truly only two kinds of people who utilize an acupuncturist in order to look for a remedy for their headaches. There are those who are presently experiencing a headache and those that are to are attempting to get some type of preventative care in order to stop the next headache from coming or to reduce its strength. These two unique scenarios are treated differently from the acupuncturist's viewpoint. Depending upon your circumstance when you talk with a professional acupuncturist, he or she will make a distinction in how you are dealt with.

The reason that this holds true is since acupuncture is a method of moving energy throughout your body and it likewise can increase blood circulation to particular locations. The method of dealing with an existing headache varies rather from the treatment that will help in obstructing future headaches. Your medical professional will have the ability to make that decision and to change the treatment appropriately.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reviewed the research literature on acupuncture and its ability to relieve headache pain. What causes the relief is unclear. While not a proven remedy for headache pain by itself, acupuncture treatment for headaches helps some migraineurs gain more control over their pain and improve their condition. Alternative therapies like acupuncture help patients gain personal power over their headache condition. 

Migraine Headache Or Sinus Headache?

If you are experiencing headaches, the ancient Chinese art of acupuncture might be able to help you in dealing with them. By bringing your body back into balance, you might have the ability to conquer your headaches at last.  Using acupuncture for migraines can assist in soothing the temporal artery and the nerve system. 

About 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches, and of those, 28 million suffer from migraines. Various factors, such as muscle tension, injury, dietary issues, allergies, sinus issues, environmental factors, and genetics, can all contribute to the causes of headaches. Although the causes among individuals can be quite different, the results are often the same - pain and diminished quality of life.

While conventional therapies such as perscription and over the counter medications can be quite effective at treating the pain of headaches and migraines sufferers, they often cause unpleasant side effects and do not necessarily get to the root cause of the problem. Routine headache pain reducers and other oral medications are most likely going to do little to assist. They are merely not what they ought to be. An individual with migraine might attempt some natural treatments such as massage, heat, a hot shower, relaxation strategies or any activity that assists in putting aside the concerns of life for the minute.

When thinking about how to naturally avoid a migraine headache, you can attempt lavender or peppermint oil as a topical option or inhaler. These can be put in a vaporizer or washcloth. Calcium and magnesium supplements likewise assist alleviate muscle tension. 

Natural medicines for migraine headache pain patients are readily available without the dangers or negative impacts of the routine pain relief medications. Being more conservative than the medical facility's methods of migraine pain relief, they're typically simply as efficient, if not more so.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can provide very effective and natural treatments for the various types of headaches, whether they be migraines, sinus headaches, tension headaches, cluster headaches, etc. Without negative side effects. Acupuncture has been used as a treatment for headaches for thousands of years and is becoming more and more of an accepted form of therapy in the united states today.

Acupuncturists treat migraine headaches by looking at the unique imbalances of each individual and treating those imbalances accordingly. By regulating blood flow, restoring energetic balance, normalizing hormones, and taking advantage of the body's own natural healing process. There are a great deal of practitioners of acupuncture. They are certified and extremely well trained professionals that can be relied on by patients.  Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can bring lasting and significant relief to migraine headache sufferers.

Lifestyle Changes To Manage Migraine

Perhaps you had “headaches” as a kid. There may have been a couple times they were so bad you would get sick and end up vomiting. You may have thought that you were reacting badly to the ibuprofen your mom would give you something to help with the pain. You may have learned that your mom, brother and sister also had these “headaches. The light and sound sensitivity, the auras, the throbbing pain from migraines were just something you dealt with. Does this describe your lifestyle as a result of suffering with migraine headaches?

Patients who are struggling with migraine ought to likewise inspect if acupuncture is covered by their HMO. The majority of insurance coverage suppliers and HMO's nowadays cover all or part of the expense however there are limitations so you need to inspect what is covered by your policy.

Aside from that, you must likewise make some way of life modifications as there are trigger aspects that have actually been understood to cause migraines. Stress is top on the list so you get enough rest and exercise in addition to a well balanced diet.

In general, the harder a medical problem is to treat, the more treatment strategies exist. This observation is certainly true for migraine. Patients and physicians are constantly looking for alternatives to drug therapy, which is effective in the short term but may have severe unwanted effects in the long term. Nonpharmacologic treatments begin with common-sense advice, such as educating patients about headache and its management, identifying and managing triggers and modifying lifestyle.

Some evidence exists for the benefit of behavioural treatment auch as relaxation, biofeedback, and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Riboflavin and coenzyme Q10 significantly decreased the frequency of migraine attacks, and the prophylactic efficacy of magnesium, particularly for children and migraines related to menstruation, has been substantiated. 

Can Acupuncture Relieve Or Prevent Migraines?

Many people wonder can acupuncture relive migraines? Others ask can acupuncture relieve migraines? Several research studies indicate that acupuncture for tension headache and for migraine headaches is very effective as a treatment choice.

As with any similar research, it’s important to take into account that this is a small study that has yet to be reproduced. But if the findings hold up, and acupuncture does show a positive impact on migraine patients, then an area of research to expand into might be whether acupuncture has a measurable impact on other conditions. 

The very best part about acupuncture for migraines is that there are no negative effects and it is pain-free. Proficient professionals can do this so you do not experience hematoma or pneumothorax. In order to treat a migraine headache, the expert needs to alleviate the tension by placing needles into the body to enhance the blood circulation to the brain. This decreases the pain experienced throughout an attack.

The needles utilized assists the body balance the serotonin levels given that it is a neurotransmitter that impacts capillary and has a function to play in migraines. The more regular these sessions are the much better. It might even pertain to a point where the particular point of contact is no longer required however the basic stimulation itself.

In the USA more than 39 million people suffer from migraines. Ninety-one percent (91%) of migraine sufferers miss work or can’t function normally during migraine attacks, and 59 percent missed family or social events. Whether you experience minor head pain or severe migraines can take valuable time out of your day and your life, leaving you searching for relief. According to a report published in the British Medical Journal, migraine is associated with a two-fold higher risk of ischemic stroke among people who have migraine with aura.

The Role Of Acupuncture In Treatment Of Migraine

Acupuncture is tied to a persistent reduction in headache frequency, but the placebo effect may still play a role in outcomes, according to results of a study published in Jama Internal Medicine. According to the USA National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 1 out of 7 Americans is affected by migraine headaches. Migraine treatment is a leading cause of emergency room and outpatient visits. Pharmacological preventive therapy for migraine can be accompanied by fatigue, sleep interference, gastrointestinal effects, weight gain, and medication overuse headaches. While research is inconsistent, acupuncture is a common treatment for acute treatment and prevention of migraines in China.

Headache disorders are one of the common health concerns worldwide. Migraine is more than a bad headache which attacks often in puberty and often affects people between 35 and 45 years. However, it is not restricted to age. According to the American Headache Society (AHS), there are approximately 28 million people in America who suffer from migraine over the age of 12. Have you ever experienced persistent headaches? Are you stuck in a vicious cycle of irritability which makes you feel guilty later on? Chances are that you are suffering from migraines.

Acupuncture is a safe natural therapy for migraine prevention. The first study to compare “true acupuncture” treatment to mock acupuncture for the treatment of migraine without aura was published in 2008. During the study, all participants were allowed to treat migraine attacks with rizatriptan.

The study concluded that true acupuncture plus rizatriptan was more effective for relieving an attack than rizatriptan plus ritualized mock acupuncture.  The study data, the authors concluded, supports the use of traditional acupuncture as an effective tool for migraine prevention. Selecting the right acupoints may play a key role in the effectiveness of acupuncture, they explain.

Acupuncture treatments have long been touted as a treatment for headache prevention and pain. You may also want to consider additional ways to address your migraine pain or to prevent a headache. Other complementary therapies for migraine include: cognitive behavior therapy.

Real Treatment or Placebo Effect?

The truth is, acupuncture is among the least hazardous medical treatments that exists. It is possible for issues to take place, it is extremely unusual and if the physician is proficient and utilizes sterilized ways when placing the needles there is little requirement for concern. The needles themselves seldom hurt whenever they penetrate the skin and frequently make the private field either unwinded or perhaps invigorated. Acupuncture migraine treatment studies have been conducted and the results are very promising.

After a four-week baseline, eligible participants were randomly allocated to real acupuncture or sham acupuncture groups. Block randomization was used, eight participants in each block, with a 1 :1 ratio. An independent researcher prepared a computer-generated sequence of random numbers and processed the randomization.

The opaque sealed envelopes were stored in a locked cabinet, and each block of envelopes (up to eight) was handed out to let the next eligible participant pick an envelope from the block. Participants were informed that this was a randomized trial that compared the effect of real acupuncture with that of sham treatment without being told the block or the block size.

They were also informed that sham treatment produced minimal effect in addition to the placebo effect. Only the treating acupuncturist was aware of the treatment allocation. Furthermore, independent assistants in charge of data entry or assessment were blinded to the treatment allocation. During the treatment period, any discussion related to treatment between the participants and the acupuncturist was restricted to a minimum of necessary explanations in order to ensure the success of the blinding procedure. After the first week of treatment, credibility of the acupuncture procedure was assessed with a questionnaire.

Does Acupuncture For Migraines Really Work?

Based on a recent systematic review of 22 clinical trials involving 4985 people, there is evidence that acupuncture reduces the frequency of headache in individuals with migraine, and that the effect may be similar to that observed with preventive medications. The frequency of headache is dropped by 50% or more in up to 59% of individuals receiving acupuncture and this effect can persist for more than 6 months.

Acupuncture is meant to keep the energy flow (called “qi”) balanced along the meridians. An acupuncturist will place needles at specific pressure points, usually along a person’s back or neck where they can slow pain transmission. Sometimes, a gentle head massage accompanies the placement of the needles.  Chi, or life energy, streams through these meridians and energy points.

The blockage of the circulation of chi causes disease and is thought about the source of numerous bodily pains and discomforts. The circulation of chi along the meridians can be blocked by health problem, bad diet, the weather condition, and other outdoors aspects.

Treatment takes about an hour, and patients are advised to undergo at least six sessions, usually once a week. The acupuncturist may also suggest dietary changes. For example: caffeine can exacerbate migraine, and some acupuncturists believe it disrupts the flow of the body.

Acupuncture for migraine is a component of traditional Chinese medicine. It involves inserting very thin needles into pressure points on your body. The medical community’s research and opinion on acupuncture is mixed. Point out that “sham” (also called simulated) acupuncture works just as well as real acupuncture. Other studies affirm that acupuncture can give relief to people that experience chronic headache pain. The world health organization (who) has endorsed acupuncture as a promising treatment for pain.

Is Acupuncture For A Headache Really That Good?

Acupuncture is extremely safe if delivered by adequately trained practitioners. The most frequent side-effects are mild and include: minor bruising or bleeding, usually on needle withdrawal (3%), worsening of existing symptoms (1%) which usually lasts no more than two days and is sometimes associated with a good overall outcome.

Drowsiness, relaxation, or euphoria (3%) which is often experienced as pleasurable (and if so is not an adverse event), and pain at the needling site (1%). Severe, extremely rare side-effects include a puncture lung or heart membrane whic is avoided by correct technique. Transmission of blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis C which is avoided by using single-use, sterile, disposable needles, and skin infection which is possible with ear acupuncture.

Acupuncture may help reduce the frequency of headaches and migraines, at least in the short-term, and is safe and well tolerated. Many people don’t respond well to drugs prescribed to prevent headaches or migraines, so acupuncture is a good alternative. More research is needed to determine whether acupuncture provides a lasting benefit, but emerging evidence shows some promise. If you are someone who often gets headaches or migraines, you understand how seriously they can impact your quality of life. It can often be difficult to think beyond the pounding in your head! when a headache strikes, finding treatments that bring relief becomes a top priority.

---