Migraine is a common (and awful) neurological disorder that affects about 12 percent of the US population, with about 18% of women and 6% of men suffering from them chronically.
Migraine is described as moderate to severe pain that can be throbbing, concentrated on one side of head, and which may include light and noise sensitivity or nausea or vomiting.
Although the cause of Migraine is still poorly understood, research shows that they're the result of abnormal brain activity temporarily affecting nerve signals, chemicals and blood vessels in the brain.
Some common triggers include:
- Lack of sleep
- Stress & anxiety
-Muscular tension in neck, shoulders and jaw
- Low blood sugar
- Exercise, especially in hot humid weather
- Shifts in estrogen levels during the menstrual cycle and perimenopause
Although patients may use preventative medication to help decrease the frequency and severity of their migraine attacks, some may find that medications are not helpful (causing other unwanted side affects), and prefer a more holistic approach.
Acupuncture may be used to minimize the frequency of (and in our experience, can eliminate) chronic migraines. In fact acupuncture helps to manage almost all of the above mentioned trigger factors, in addition to direct migraine pain relief.
There have been several clinical trials which show evidence that acupuncture reduces the frequency of headache in individuals with migraines, and the effect may be similar to that observed with preventative medicine. The best effects were shown in patients who came with regular frequency, such as 1-2 times weekly, for six weeks.
Evidence from the trials showed that acupuncture helped to reduce frequency of headache to 50% or more in up to 59% of the individuals who received treatment.
Resources:
Li YX, Xiao XL, Zhong DL, Luo LJ, Yang H, Zhou J, He MX, Shi LH, Li J, Zheng H, Jin RJ. Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Migraine: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Pain Res Manag. 2020 Mar 23;2020:3825617. doi: 10.1155/2020/3825617. PMID: 32269669; PMCID: PMC7125485.
Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Fei Y, Mehring M, Vertosick EA, Vickers A, White AR. Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Jun 28;2016(6):CD001218. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3. PMID: 27351677; PMCID: PMC4977344.
Zhao L, Chen J, Li Y, Sun X, Chang X, Zheng H, Gong B, Huang Y, Yang M, Wu X, Li X, Liang F. The Long-term Effect of Acupuncture for Migraine Prophylaxis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Apr 1;177(4):508-515. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.9378. PMID: 28241154.