Treatment for migraines
Treatment for migraines has a shallow success rate. This fact is easy to explain, considering the polymorphism of this medical condition. Migraines are unpredictable, but environmental, emotional, and physical factors can trigger them. Therefore, they can be treated and minimized by paying attention to these things. It can be helpful to keep a journal of your migraines to better understand them when they occur and to identify possible triggers.
Birth control pills, medications, dietary factors, caffeine, and tobacco are known to increase ocular migraine rates, a type of migraine. Speaking to your doctor about changing your diet and medication and quitting smoking and caffeine to prevent possible eye migraines may be beneficial. Acupuncture, massage, and relaxation techniques are treatments for ocular migraines that help minimize the symptoms by relieving stress and improving blood circulation.
Eating healthy, balanced meals, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and drinking plenty of water are also treatments for ocular migraines that can help. Natural supplements can help prevent ocular migraines and can be discussed with your doctor.
If you have ocular migraines, paying attention to your body’s signals and staying balanced to minimize these events is essential. Your doctor can help you develop a strategy to improve your health and the severity and frequency of ocular migraines.
What is a migraine?
A migraine is a pulsating or throbbing pain on one side of the head. This headache is often associated with vomiting or nausea and sensitivity to light, sounds, and smells. Some people experience bouts of depression. Most attacks are often reoccurring and tend to become less severe as the migraine sufferer begins to age.
The symptoms can be classified as migraine headaches. There are two common migraines: one with an aura and one without an aura. The less common migraines include basilar, hemiplegic, abdominal, ophthalmoplegic, ocular, or retinal migraines. Most women experience migraine headaches just before or during a menstrual cycle. This can be related to hormonal changes and often does not occur during pregnancy. However, other women can develop migraines for the first time during pregnancy or after menopause begins.
Migraines affect about 20 million people in the United States. They can occur at any age, usually between 10 and 40, and diminish after age 50. Some people experience several painful migraines a month, and others can only have a few migraines their entire lifetime. Additionally, 75% of migraine sufferers are women.
Though the medical community does not entirely understand migraines, it is widely accepted that they occur due to a drop in the blood’s serotonin level. This leads to a dilation of the blood vessels within the head and causes them to expand. The expansion of the blood vessels is the reason for the throbbing headaches sufferers experience.
Types of Migraine
There are several different types of migraines. The most common are abdominal, basilar, complicated, cyclic, hemiplegic, nocturnal, ophthalmologic, and ocular migraines.
Abdominal migraine
This type of headache is also referred to as “periodic syndrome.” Children with a family history of these kinds of migraines are the ones most often diagnosed with this variant. Moderate abdominal pain is the most common characteristic. The pain can last between one and 72 hours.
Basilar migraine
Most common in young adults, this variant of this type of migraine is associated with a visual aura. The symptoms are dizziness, confusion, and hearing changes.
Cyclic migraine
Chronic, recurring types of migraines are characterized as cyclic. More than ten headaches a month must be recorded to obtain this diagnosis.
Hemiplegic migraine
Physical partial paralysis is familiar with a hemiplegic diagnosis. Paralysis most often affects one side of the body. The physical symptoms most often disappear when the headache subsides.
Ophthalmoplegic Migraine
This form of migraine should be differentiated from ocular migraines. One of the rarest diagnoses is ophthalmoplegic migraine. Patients with this condition report that the symptoms and pain center around the eye. Patients suffering from pressure on eye nerves may be misdiagnosed with ophthalmoplegic headaches.
Ocular migraine
This form of migraine is sporadic. It involves seeing colors, flashing lights, or other visual changes, including losing some or all vision in one eye. A typical migraine headache should follow the visual loss, lasting less than an hour. However, other severe conditions can cause sudden vision loss in one eye, so go to a doctor immediately if you have vision changes.
The symptoms of ocular migraine usually appear in both eyes; listed below are ocular migraine symptoms:
- Seeing temporary flashes of stars, zigzag lines, or other patterns
- A bright or blind spot that starts in the center of vision and spreads to cover up to half of the visual field
- Slurred speech
- Impaired motor skills
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Nausea and vomiting
- Tingling or numbness on one side of the body
- Intense pain, which may be pulsating or throbbing, in one or both sides of the head
Note: Ocular migraine symptoms vary among individuals.
Pregnancy-induced migraine
While 80% of sufferers stop having pain while pregnant, this is not always the case. Prescription medications are not allowed during pregnancy, so alternative therapies are commonly used.
Migraine symptoms
Migraine symptoms are different for everyone. In many people, they appear gradually.
These migraine disease symptoms can develop from one phase to another.
Prodrome
A few hours or days before a headache, around 60% of people with migraines notice symptoms such as:
- Sensitivity to light, sounds, or smells
- Cravings or loss of appetite
- Mood swings
- Strong thirst
- Bloating
- Constipation or diarrhea
Aura
These migraine disease symptoms originate in your nervous system and often affect your eyesight. They usually start gradually, lasting over 5 to 20 minutes and less than an hour.
- Seeing black dots, wavy lines, flashes of light, or things that are not there (hallucinations)
- Have tunnel vision.
- Have tingling or numbness on one side of your body.
- I can’t speak clearly.
- Feel heavy in your arms and legs.
- Got a ringing in your ears?
- Notice the changes in smell, taste, or touch.
Attack
This is another migraine symptom that often starts with a dull ache and turns into throbbing pain. It usually gets worse with physical activity. The pain can move from one side of your head to the other, be in front of your head, or affect your entire head.
Postdrome
This stage can last up to a day after a headache. These headache and migraine symptoms include:
- Feeling tired, wiped out, or cranky
- Feeling unusually refreshed or happy
- Muscle pain or weakness
- Food cravings or lack of appetite
Causes of migraines
Scientists thought an initial spasm that partially closed the arteries leading to the cerebrum caused migraine headaches in the 1940s. They thought this caused a decrease in the blood flow to part of the brain, hence the sudden headache and severe pain.
In the 1970s, it was researched and believed that dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters in the brain, significantly affected blood flow to the brain, causing pain due to irregular flow.
What are the causes of migraine headaches?
Listed below are the most common migraine causes
- Foods like chocolate, cheese, nuts, and caffeine are some causes of migraine. Using MSG in food can also trigger an attack.
- A severe lack of sleep can cause a migraine to come on in many people. The same also goes for too much sleep.
- People with illnesses like depression, epilepsy, anxiety, and Tourette syndrome frequently get migraines. Any condition that induces large amounts of stress can cause migraine headaches.
- Missing a meal or suddenly changing an eating pattern can cause migraine headaches. Any change in your eating pattern should be phased in slowly instead of being introduced abruptly.
- Many people have reported that taking contraceptives causes migraines.
- Smoking or inhaling second-hand cigarette smoke can cause migraine headaches in some people.
- Excessive consumption of alcohol can instantly trigger a headache or migraine, which can last an hour.
Note: Migraine causes vary from person to person, so it’s essential to consider all the possibilities when you go to self-diagnose. Sometimes, you may need to adjust your environment and remove certain things, like bright fluorescent lights or anything that smells strongly. If all else fails, you might consider using an over-the-counter remedy like a supplement or medicine that might help replenish the body and get you feeling better as soon as possible.
Natural Treatments for Migraines
Medication is an obvious choice when it comes to treating migraines, but too much medication can mess with your body and mind, and there always comes a time when your body acquires tolerance to the drug, which in turn means you have to up the dose. That isn’t a long-term, sustainable solution.
However, natural treatment for migraines has been proven to be more effective, with no side effects, in treating migraine symptoms. Listed below are different forms of natural treatment for migraines:
Home remedies used in treatment for migraines
To relieve your migraine and increase the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment, you can try the following home remedies: drink more water and caffeine, fish and peppermint oil, magnesium, CoEnzymeQ10, B2, and hot and cold compress. Also, many medicinal herbs may relieve the migraine attack.
The fewer medicines you take, the better.
Wet ice towels are the first and most useful home-based natural migraine treatment.
Wet ice towels are a home remedy for migraines, which has dramatically helped. Soak a towel in a bucket of ice water and apply it around the skull. The cold alleviates pain and enables you to feel better instantly.
Massage is an effective natural treatment for migraines
Head and shoulder massage is one of the natural treatments for migraines when the attack is mainly stress-related. Many cultures worldwide have used massages and ‘physical healing’ to help cure several ailments. Neck and head massages are the best for migraine attacks. This natural migraine treatment can be combined with herbal oils for extra effect.
Homeopathy for migraines: #1 natural treatment for migraines
Homeopathy is a powerful but gentle, complete modality of natural health care. It works by searching for the original cause of the migraines, whether they occurred yesterday or 20 years ago. It’s of no consequence.
Once this is discovered, the most appropriate treatment can be worked out based on your symptom picture or personal symptoms. Listed below are homeopathic remedies for migraines
- This natural migraine treatment relieves headaches with a feeling of fullness of the head and sensitivity to noise and light.
- This homeopathic remedy for migraine can be helpful if a person has a severe or “splitting” headache with steady pain that settles over one eye (especially the left) or spreads to the entire head. Pain is worse from any motion, even from moving the eyes, and the person wants to lie entirely still and not be talked to or disturbed. Nausea, a heavy feeling in the stomach, and vomiting may occur. The person has a parched mouth and is usually thirsty.
- This homeopathic remedy for migraines relieves congestive headaches at the base of the head and headaches around the eye caused or aggravated by stress.
Glonoinum
- This all-natural remedy for migraines relieves sudden headaches with head fullness and a heat-like sensation made worse by heat.
Acupuncture for migraines—one of the most effective ancient Chinese natural treatments for migraines
Based on a recent systematic review involving about 2000 people, there is evidence that acupuncture for migraines reduces the frequency of headaches in individuals with migraines and that the outcome may be comparable to that detected with preventive medicines. The occurrence of headaches decreased by 50% or more in up to 59% of patients being treated with acupuncture for migraines, and it was proven that this result could last for more than six months.
The benefits of acupuncture for migraines:
- Acupuncture for migraines helps restore positive energy flow through your body.
- Migraine acupuncture also removes the negative energy that is causing you pain. From a modern medical perspective, migraine acupuncture stimulates various systems in your body.
- Acupuncture divides your body into several areas and pressure points. Acupuncture needles are inserted into different pressure points depending on your symptoms. These needle tips are usually located near the nerves in your body. The properly inserted needle stimulates the recommendations of the nerves to manufacture and release particular hormones, such as endorphins. These hormones will trigger a proper healing response in your body. Acupuncture advocates claim that this stimulation of the immune and circulatory systems relieves migraines and tension headaches.
- Many patients experience side effects from using medications recommended by their physician to prevent episodes of headaches or migraines, making acupuncture an excellent alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.
Acupuncture is an art and, simultaneously, a science that takes much time and effort to master. If you are looking for an acupuncturist with formal qualifications and clinical experience in treating migraines, type into your search box on Google: acupuncture for migraines near me and review each acupuncturist to pick the best.
When Western allopathic medicine hasn’t helped relieve your migraine headache, many patients are willing to discover other healing methods. Acupuncture is a healing art developed in China approximately 4,000 years ago, alleviating pain while balancing Yin and Yang energy in 14 major meridians. Based on the ancient Chinese science of five elements (wood, metal, fire, earth, and air), 14 passages, aka meridians or channels along the body, allow energy to flow. Pain and illness can arise if there is a disturbance in the amount and quality of major Yin and Yang energies flowing through the meridians. While there is a sufficient variety of clinical trials and research, acupuncture has a lot of positive reviews in the migraine community.
Acupuncture for migraines: an effective and safe treatment for migraines
Acupuncture for migraines is a treatment for migraines that can alleviate and treat the causes that lead to the appearance of pain. Migraines are a particular and severe type of headache that frequently come with nausea, vision disturbances, occasionally vomiting, and even episodes of unconsciousness.
Those suffering from headaches and migraines struggle to fight pain, sometimes 24/7. That’s why migraines can seriously alter an individual’s daily routine and transform it into terrible moments. Moreover, even in ancient times, acupuncture for headaches was an alternative medicine for dealing with headaches and neck and back pains.
Why does acupuncture for migraines work?
This traditional Chinese treatment for migraines is about inserting needles into a patient’s head, ears, chest, legs, feet, hands, arms, and shoulders to relieve tension and pain. This natural remedy for migraines allows the inner energy to regain balance and flow freely. Various studies prove this treatment’s beneficial impact on patients suffering from this medical disorder. By regularly practicing this natural remedy for migraines, the patient experiences a decrease in the frequency with which the headaches occur. Moreover, the pain’s intensity decreases, allowing the body to regain strength and heal. It was observed that acupuncture for headaches and migraines had a beneficial impact long after the sessions stopped. This means that even though the headaches reappeared in some cases, they were milder and more accessible to deal with. Furthermore, almost all patients stated that the medication did not offer the same relief as it did after a couple of acupuncture sessions for migraines.
In modern medicine, migraines are considered the most common and recurrent type of pain worldwide. This pain can range from moderate to severe, lasting 4 to more than 72 hours. Migraines represent severe discomfort that can hurt an individual’s life. Moreover, patients suffering from this excruciating pain experience a feeling of powerlessness regarding their ability to control their lives.
Acupuncture for Migraines vs. Pharmaceutical Drugs: Which treatment for migraines is more effective?
Migraines are considered a severe disorder that must be dealt with carefully. Hence, this is why various studies have been done on how acupuncture for headaches and migraines influences the symptoms. It was established that home remedies for migraines are often more helpful than the prescribed medicine because they can prevent the reappearance of a severe episode. Acupuncture for migraines is also considered an aid for patients because it acts as a coping mechanism that offers a soothing feeling of comfort. Acupuncture for migraine headaches is helpful because it stimulates nerve and endorphin production. This natural migraine treatment allows the brain to deal with the pain and eventually diminish its power. Acupuncture for migraines reduces inflammation and improves the blood flow in the brain. This is helpful in the case of migraines because it aids the body in fighting against the tension resented. Furthermore, by promoting the blood flow in the brain, the production of serotonin is diminished. This substance is often associated with the appearance of migraines.
Acupuncture Treatment for Migraines: Conclusion
- Acupuncture has been recognized as a way to decrease the severity of migraine pain. This is the main reason why acupuncture for migraines is so popular. A few thousand clinical trials have revealed that acupuncture treatments can successfully reduce the severity of pain and the frequency of migraines.
- Acupuncture diminishes inflammation. While the mechanism and pathology of migraines are not thoroughly researched, most medical experts agree that any headache encompasses some inflammatory reaction by the body. Acupuncture stimulates the release of endorphin and scopolamine, major vascular and immune-mediating factors that reduce inflammation.
- Acupuncture can diminish the level of serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone of happiness that the body fabricates internally. However, many scientists, researchers, and neurophysiologists are confident of the ability of serotonin to trigger migraines.
- Acupuncture can relieve the significant symptoms of migraines. Acupuncture and Chinese medicinal herbs can heal much more than pain syndrome. Research outcomes have shown that symptoms usually associated with migraine headaches, such as nausea, vomiting, and vertigo, can also be relieved using traditional Chinese medicine techniques. Herbal medicines are commonly used next to acupuncture procedures to keep the pain under control.
- Acupuncture recovers blood circulation from blockages. Very often, migraine pain is due to a lack of proper blood circulation and, thus, a deficit of oxygen delivered to the brain tissues. For blood supply improvement and balance, dry and wet cupping procedures in the areas around the head, neck, and shoulders are another effective TCM modality.
Natural treatments for migraines in Philadelphia
The top acupuncture clinic in the City of Brotherly Love and Surrounding Areas is Philadelphia Acupuncture Clinic, under the direction of a doctor named Victor Tsan. While our clinic is a department of the Philadelphia Holistic Clinic, all holistic techniques are available for our patients under one roof. Dr. Tsan will propose the best-individualized treatment plan for your condition.
At the Philadelphia Acupuncture Clinic, Dr. Tsan, a specialist in homeopathic medicine, usually combines acupuncture for migraine treatment with natural remedies for migraines, such as homeopathic remedies for migraines, herbs for migraines, and essential oils for headaches, which increase the effectiveness of the acupuncture treatment by 60–70 percent. Both acupuncture for migraines and natural remedies for migraines focus on the inner energy flow. By combining both practices, the patient will benefit from physical, mental, and emotional relief. In other words, those two practices complement each other and lead to greater healing power.
David Wu, LAc, has an extended academic and clinical experience in traditional Chinese medicine. He works under the supervision of Dr. Victor Tsan.
Each patient in our clinic gets a customized treatment for migraines rather than an average protocol. That’s why we have the highest success rate in the industry.
Contact our clinic to schedule your appointment with a licensed acupuncturist or Victor Tsan, MD, for evaluation and treatment.