If you’ve got a bad headache that keeps coming back, chances are you’re on the prowl for a solution that will keep it away for good. Though pain medications can temporarily ease pain, they do not treat the underlying problem. Acupuncture offers a mode of treatment that is tailored to your symptoms. Chinese Medicine Doctors take into consideration the duration, type and location of the pain that you experience, using their knowledge of the body in order to find and eliminate the root problem.
Headaches are a very common complaint and have many differentiating properties in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Among the many possibilities that could be the root cause of your headaches, Chinese Medicine takes a few key points into consideration when narrowing down a diagnosis. These include onset, duration, frequency, location, and feeling. All of these pieces combined
help to put together your individual head puzzle. What I mean by this is that two different people could both be experiencing very similar headache patterns that could be from two completely different root causes and therefore, require two different treatment protocols.
Let’s examine the pieces of location and feeling. First, we’ll take a look at location. The picture of the meridians that run on the head show that there are very few spaces on the scalp that are not occupied by a variety of meridians. These meridian lines help us to diagnose the different organs involved when looking at headaches.
| Location | Type | Organs |
| Vertex | Jueyin | Liver |
| Temples | Shaoyang | Gallbladder, triple warmer |
| Occipital | Taiyang | Urinary bladder |
| Forehead | Yangming | Stomach |
| Behind the eye | Jueyin | Liver |
| Whole head | Shaoyin | Kidney |
The actual feeling of your headache can also help to narrow down the root problem. For example, if your head feels throbbing and worsens with pressure, then it is due to an excess condition. If your headache is a dull pain that feels better with pressure and rest, then it is due to deficiency. Further examination of time of day and location will aide in finding the organ relationship.
| Feeling | Excess or Deficiency |
| Sharp | Excess |
| Dull | Deficiency |
| Better with pressure | Deficiency |
| Worse with pressure | Excess |
| Feels like a towel wrapped around the head | Excess (Dampness) |
| Better with rest | Deficiency |
| Better with movement | Excess (Stagnation) |
Once the puzzle is completed, a treatment plan can be made. This may consist of acupuncture, herbs, cupping, tuina or a combination of different modalities. Acupuncture stimulates the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain-relieving neurohormones. Acupuncture affects the functioning of the hormonal system, promotes a decrease in inflammation, and increases circulation to provide relief from pain. Meridians traverse the entire body and often acupuncture points on the hands and feet are the best points to treat a headache.
If you would like to know more, feel free to book an acupuncture appointment or a free 15 minute Meet and Greet with me by calling us at 403-452-0029 or by booking online.