Migraine treatment
Migraines are common and affect almost everyone in their life. Symptoms include:
- Pain on one side of the head
- Throbbing pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Nausea and vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Lightheadedness
- Can last for up to 72 hours
Acupuncture has been around for many centuries. Originating from Chinese medicine, it is often used in the treatment of conditions that cause chronic pain, and this includes migraines. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends the use of acupuncture in treating migraines.
It is particularly effective in the use of migraines because it can treat all of the various symptoms associated with them, such as pain and nausea, and can help reduce or eliminate them completely.
Clinical research has proven acupuncture to be effective in the treatment of migraines and there are a number of studies that have highlighted this.
How does acupuncture help migraines?
Acupuncture is successful in helping migraines because it relieves a number of symptoms that affect sufferers:
Relieves pain
Acupuncture stimulates the nerves around muscles and other tissues which produce pain-relieving endorphins. This sends natural pain relieving messages to your brain to help reduce and eliminate the pain you're experiencing. Acupuncture can also change the way that pain messages are delivered to your brain.
Reduces nausea
Nausea often accompanies migraines, and by using acupuncture on the correct pressure points, the feelings of nausea can reduce or be eliminated completely.
Reduces inflammation
Inflammation is reduced using acupuncture, by promoting the flow of energy around the body and stimulating the production of cortisol, a hormone which helps with inflammation.
Can reduce the reoccurance of migraines
In the case of some sufferers of migraines, with regular acupuncture sessions, they find their migraines significantly reducing in frequency, or being eliminated altogether.
What will the acupuncture be like?
Acupuncture points to treat headaches are not just in your head as you'd think, but all around the body.
You will have a full, personalised consultation to discuss your symptoms and to ask more about the type of migraines you have. Your energy points for headaches could be in the leg, arms, shoulders and even your feet!
We recommend you wear loose clothing, such as shorts and a t-shirt when you have acupuncture, to allow the acupuncturist to access your pressure points easily, and to aid your comfort.
These little needles are single use and re-sterilised. The treatment should last around 60 minutes, although the first session will be slightly longer to allow a discussion of your health issues.
What will I feel afterwards?
It won't hurt; people sometimes report feeling a tingling around the needle, or an ache. Some people's symptoms get a little bit worse shortly afterwards, but this should only last for a short while.
You may feel very tired after a session, and you may also feel very relaxed, as you will have been completely resting for the time of the treatment. For this reason, we recommend you have some time to rest afterwards, and not to operate any machinery, and consider whether you are OK to drive.
We recommend you have a number of sessions in the treatment of migraines, your acupuncturist can talk to you about this during your initial consultation, to decide what's right for you.
Explanation video
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Book your consultation today if you'd like to find out more about using acupuncture for migraines at our professional and friendly clinic.