ACUPUNCTURE FOR MIGRAINES

Can acupuncture help relieve migraines?

Yes, Acupuncture can be an effective option for preventing and reducing the effects of migraines. Research, clinical experience, and personal experience have proven acupuncture helpful with the prevention and treatment of migraines. Acupuncture has been used for centuries to treat migraines, which are generally considered difficult to treat, and in modern times most often approached with pharmaceuticals.  

A great deal of research has been conducted on the topic and according to The American Migraine Foundation:  

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 migraines, 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.

Migraines 101

Migraine headaches are a type of headache that can occur in people of all ages. They are usually unilateral in nature, with one side of the head being more affected than the other. The pain is usually moderate to severe and can be aggravated by everyday activities, or known triggers.  

Migraines can also present with other symptoms such as pain, nausea, vomiting, photophobia (discomfort in bright lights), phonophobia (discomfort in loud sounds), and so on. Certain food triggers known to cause migraines include aged cheeses, salty foods, processed foods, or food containing aspartame or monosodium glutamate (MSG).

It’s interesting to note that: we have historical records of migraines from both the ancient Egyptians going back to 1200BC and from Hippocrates himself around 400BC, who referenced the visual disturbances that often precede migraines, as well as the accounts many other prominent medical scholars.  Unfortunately, this particular challenge has been part of the human story for quite a while.

Treating Migraines: WHAT ARE The Options & How Acupuncture Can Help?

As everyone knows: migraine headaches are debilitating and painful. They are believed to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While there is not an established “cure” for migraines, people usually receive two types of treatments: prophylactic medication and abortive medications.

For the most part, the goal of prophylactic therapy is to reduce attacks’ frequency, severity, and duration; this can be thought of as the preventative approach. Of note: if taken too often or for too long, these prophylactic medications can cause chronic daily or rebound headaches. 

The second category of medications, abortive medications, is intended to stop a migraine that has already begun, reducing or halting the pain and discomfort. 

While acupuncture could be used as either a prophylactic or an abortive method, In my practice of five element acupuncture, I generally tend to focus more on acupuncture’s preventive benefits. 

An Acupuncturist’s personal experience with Migraines

Having said that, I have personally used acupuncture on myself as an abortive treatment to successfully curtail ocular migraines on a half-dozen occasions - with an enormous sense of relief each time that it worked!  It has been several years since I last experienced an ocular migraine - and I now suspect dehydration may have been the culprit, as I was living at a high altitude. 

My personal pattern was being awoken in the middle of the night with a stabbing pain in my eye.  I would then stumble around looking for my glasses and acupuncture kit, eventually giving myself treatment and resting on the couch while waiting it out.  As I recall, it would take approximately 15-20 minutes for the pain to subside.  While lying there in a sleep-deprived state with a pulsing pain in my left eye was not enjoyable, I can remember it being quite an amazing feeling once the pain had subsided.  It’s almost a miracle that you feel like a capable human again .. because while the pain is at full intensity you cannot be certain that it won’t just go on forever! 

Acupuncture for Migraines: Preventing The Onset

There are many reasons for people to get migraine attacks. Some patients with migraines are able to identify headache triggers.  Common triggers include menstruation, stress, flickering lights, irregular sleep schedule, caffeine and alcohol, barometric pressure changes, and dehydration.  Obviously once a trigger is identified, it’s best to be avoided, if possible.

Other people notice that there exist certain “disorders” associated with their migraines such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, or stress-related disorders. A key point is that: acupuncture is known to be an effective treatment for many of the stress-related disorders that are known to trigger migraines.

 Therefore, if you have any of these challenges, or a stress-related disorder, and can't find relief through traditional medicine, it is well worth trying acupuncture to help prevent your migraines. This is clearly an area where “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Of the treatments that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of migraines, a list of the most common includes beta-blockers, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), calcium channel blockers, anti-seizure medications, and acupuncture.  However, the pharmaceuticals tend to have side effects, notably causing “rebound headaches”, and so increasingly acupuncture is gaining more attention for its effectiveness in treating migraines without side effects. 

In Summary: the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of migraines is well documented. Acupuncture has been used to treat headaches for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. A majority of research has shown that acupuncture can be very effective in both preventing and relieving migraine headaches.   

David J. Leeds
Acupuncture in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Five Element Acupuncture