Not many of us living fast-paced, on-the-go, multitasking and stressed out lives would deny that stress adversely affects our health in numerous and varied ways. For some people, stress results specifically in migraine and tension headaches. Ask anyone who suffers from these often debilitating headaches, and they will tell you that the pain can be anywhere between mild to moderate, to beyond painful. As with many painful and chronic health conditions, acupuncture and traditional eastern medicine (TEM) is an effective and powerful alternative to prescription and over-the-counter medicines. It can provide a more natural and holistic approach to headache treatment.
Within acupuncture, the body is treated as a whole entity. It is the goal of these treatments to harmonize and balance the body’s life energy, Qi, altering various biochemical and physiological conditions in order to eradicate or alleviate pain.
Acupuncture and TEM have been shown to be quite effective in doing this for headache pain. It is believed that acupuncture also helps balance the body’s levels of serotonin, a blood compound that constricts blood vessels, as well as releasing endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers. During an acute migraine, the pain is thought to be caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the head, often causing muscle tension and pain in the neck and shoulders as well.
Treatment for migraine depends on if it is for an acute migraine attack, or whether the treatment is meant to be preventative. In an acute attack, it is important to minimize activity of the blood vessels in the head and neck, therefore they are rarely stimulated. This minimizing of dilated blood vessels, combined with the relaxation of tense muscles helps to ease the pain caused by migraines. Besides acute migraines, acupuncture is also effective in treating tension, cluster and hormonally-induced headaches.
Whether you are looking for a natural and drug-free alternative to common medical treatments for all types of headaches, especially migraines, or you simply want to try and find help in actually preventing these chronic and often disabling headaches, we at New Hope urge you to explore acupuncture as a viable and highly effective treatment.
Dr. Koh is one of a few select Doctors of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (DAOM) in the United States. Dr. Koh has extensive experience as a practitioner and an educator, currently being a Professor and a program director of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Stanton University.
For more information call 661-257-1233.