Chiropractic Care For Headaches
Chronic headaches can be an incapacitating condition for its sufferers. Most modern treatments are only effective at numbing the symptomatic pain of the headache. The good news is that research shows that acupuncture for headaches is effective at controlling the pain and preventing reoccurrences of headaches.
Headaches are commonly classified by their symptoms into the following categories:
- Migraine Headaches
- Cluster Headaches
- Sinus Headaches
- Tension Headaches
- TMJ Headaches
What Is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a form of Oriental Medicine that is based upon the concept that health comes from the proper the flow of Qi, or energy, in your body. If this flow of Qi in your body becomes unbalanced, pain and disease can result. By inserting acupuncture needles into specific points along meridians, or energy pathways, the flow of Qi can be corrected. Activating your Qi with acupuncture can stop your headache pain and increase your body’s natural healing abilities.
What Causes Headaches?
In Oriental Medicine, the cause of headaches always begins with some form of internal deficiency. This deficiency can allow the invasion of Wind to create an external condition, where the headache occurs concurrently with a common cold. In other cases, the internal deficiency can lead to an excess Yang energy rising to the head, phlegm accumulation, or blood stasis. Yang Rising headaches are often brought on by stress and occur suddenly. Phelgm accumulation headaches feel dull and occur with mental cloudiness. Blood stasis headaches generally occur at night with a sharp, stabbing pain. Chronic headaches can also occur purely from deficiency of Qi, Blood, or Kidney essence. Deficiency headaches tend to have a dull, empty sensation that feels better with pressure on the head.
Headaches can be a sign of a serious medical condition, so it is important to get a thorough medical diagnosis if you have severe chronic headaches.
Why Use Acupuncture?
The most common treatment for chronic headaches is over-the-counter non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen, used individually or in combination. Unfortunately, the use of these pharmaceuticals can lead to unwanted side-effects, such as lethargy, stomach ulcers, constipation, nausea, and shallow breathing. While these medications do provide a temporary relief of headache pain, acupuncture has been clinically shown to provide better, longer-lasting relief from headaches than conventional treatment.
