What's causing your headache or migraines?
4.9 million people in Australia experience migraines each year
87% of people in a large Melbourne study had at least 1 headache in the last year
Women are 3 times more likely to have headaches or migraines
As of 2018, The total economic cost of migraines in Australia is $35.7 billion
These are some pretty wild statistics!
So what causes headaches and migraines & what helps?
A Chinese Med map of the face
What are the causes of headaches in Chinese Medicine?
In Chinese Med, we look at headaches and migraines in two ways.
Different parts of the face relate to the different Chinese Med organ functions, which helps tell us what’s wrong in the body and where.
We also use the info from all of your body’s symptoms, (not just your headaches and migraines) to form your Chinese Medicine Diagnosis. This tells us the cause and how best to treat your headaches and migraines.
Common causes in Chinese Med are:
Not having enough coolness & stillness (eg calm, sleep & water) also known as hyperactivity of liver yang
Being tired/having low iron, also known as qi & blood deficiency
Tension, with sharp exacerbation - also known as liver qi stagnation causing fire
(yes they have interesting names!)
Headaches vs Migraines
What causes Headaches and Migraines in Functional Medicine?
There are many possible contributing factors to headaches and migraines. Ones commonly seen in the clinic include:
Dehydration, lack of sleep, stress, eye strain
Food intolerances - gluten & chocolate are common causes
Hormonal reasons - the reason why women are 3 times more likely to get them
Low iron - this can also contribute to hormonal headaches and migraines
Low zinc - this can contribute to elevated oestrogen and hormonal headaches & migraines
Low magnesium - it’s a muscle relaxant! low levels prevalent in migraine sufferers
MTHFR gene mutations - a gene that can cause high homocysteine levels common in those with migraines
Can Acupuncture help headaches and migraines?
Well, yes it can.
Acupuncture has strong evidence for treating chronic and tension-type headaches and migraine prevention.
This Systematic Review found Acupuncture reduced the frequency of migraine attacks and compared with medication, Acupuncture showed higher effectiveness with less adverse reactions.
Our favourite part of helping you with your headaches and migraines is we also help heal other symptoms you have AND leave you feeling oh so relaxed each session.
Sounds great hey!