Headaches? – no need to cut off your head ..
Headaches often have an acute onset, but depending on their nature, can linger for a couple of hours or even days.
Chinese medicine doesn’t differentiate between migraine headaches and ordinary headaches, the diagnosis is based on the channels that flow through the location of the pain.
i.e. a migraine that presents ‘behind the eye’ will be treated with the Stomach channel, which runs through the eye. Interestingly, many migraines are triggered by food such as red wine, cheese, chocolate (stomach involvement).
A headache that is more temporal, will involve channel points from the Gallbladder channel, which has a close relationship to stress.
Another important element is the nature of the pain (dull, sharp, throbbing), which tells the practitioner what kind of stagnation is happening (Qi, Blood, Yang rising etc).
Based on these factors, local and distal acupuncture points are chosen to release the acute stagnation and lead the excess pressure away from the head. A herbal formula designed to stabilize the condition can be a good addition to the treatment.
If you are prone to frequent headaches you need to use the time in between events to understand your triggers and use acupuncture and herbs to make your body more resistant to headache attacks.