If you have been suffering from migraines on a regular basis, then you should know how bad this can affect your life quality because the pain is usually bad enough to stop you from doing anything although the pain killer able to reduce the intensity of the pain but you probably still feel some heaviness in your head, blurry mind and feeling very tired all the time.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treats migraine headaches effectively. There was research had shown that acupuncture is more effective than drugs at reducing both intensity and frequency of the headaches because it is just not pain relieve but also treating the root cause of the headaches. Besides, I will also give you some good advice to prevent recurrence of migraine for example changing of lifestyle, diet advices or frequency of therapy needed depending on your migraine patterns (based on Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnose i.e. which channels or elements involved causing imbalance of body energy) and trigger factors. The trigger factors could be different to everyone, however below listed are the five common trigger factors causing migraine headaches. The migraine can be caused by one or more than one trigger factors in most cases.
HORMONAL DISORDERS
If you notice your migraine headaches occurs usually before ovulation and/or period, then this could be hormonal related because there are big rise and fall of hormones within these two times. Acupuncture treatment is to regulate the hormones production, it will treat the PMS and fertility problems at the same time.
DIET / UNHEALTHY FOODS
Foods cooked under high temperature such as roasting and deep-fried can trigger migraine. Foods that contain high sugar and fat i.e. chocolate, caramel desserts do the same. Drinking coffee or fizzy drinks instead of water can cause dehydration which is another trigger factor for migraine. Acupuncture will help the body to detox and bring back the normal organ function such as healthy bowel movement, digestion and sleeping pattern which are very much related to headaches according to TCM.
STRESS
People who have been thru some sort of stress usually lead to sleeping problems, not eating probably and busy thinking. If all these have been happening for a period of time can cause migraine. Acupuncture can help them to relax and able to rest well to restore energy so that they can cope with things easier.
SEASONAL/WEATHER CHANGE
Some people have migraine easily on the rainy day, some after they have been out door in the windy day, or day with strong sun. This is because everyone body constitution is different. Spring summer is the season for hay fever and this will likely make the headaches worse and turn out to be migraine. Acupuncture will help to relieve the pain and help your body to recover quicker.
NECK & SHOULDER PAIN
Long term of poor posture can lead to neck and shoulder pain, due to the muscles stiffness on the neck and shoulder, there is lack of blood supply to the brain which could lead to migraine headaches when the condition worsen. Acupuncture is excellent to relieve the muscles tension on those areas to resume proper blood circulation into the brain to relieve headaches.