by Candice Esposito, Naturopathic Doctor
Algoma Natural Healing Clinic, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario

Headaches are one of the most common concerns seen in medical practice. Heachaches can be caused by many different factors, however possibly the most common is stress - commonly called tension headaches. Other types include cluster headaches and migraines. Pain medications like Tylenol or Aspirin may help temporarily relieve pain associated with headaches, however they usually do not address the underlying causes and therefore are not preventative.

Fortunately there are a great number of natural treatment options for headaches that can effectively eradicate the cause of the headaches or, at the very least, reduce the pain to a more tolerable level. Identifying the cause of headaches is one of the central challenges that all practitioners face. In particular, migraine patterns can be mysterious and spontaneous. They can be due to food allergies, stress, hormonal imbalances, emotional issues, dehydration, trauma, genetic factors, heavy metal poisoning, or intestinal toxicity.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Chinese medicine is that it looks for a unifying theme through the patient’s entire presentation, not just their distinct symptoms. We can’t simply say, ‘OK, here is the herbal magic bullet for headaches.’ What we can do is identify a pattern of disharmony that is based on all of the patient’s symptoms, along with their pulse and tongue diagnosis. This helps us to get a deeper picture of what is occurring.

In Chinese medicine, we want to see everything improve, not just the presenting complaint. For instance, if a patient comes in with temporal headaches (pain in the side of the head), constipation and irritability, and they have tense pulses and swollen sides to the tongue, the Chinese medical diagnosis would be liver qi stagnation. This means that the liver isn’t functioning optimally and that the circulatory function of this vital organ is impaired. By regulating the liver qi, all of these symptoms are expected to improve.

In Chinese medicine, it isn’t necessarily important what kinds of headaches are occurring. As long as the correct pattern is identified, the headaches should be treatable. Below are a few common headache patterns along with their herbal treatments:

Liver Qi stagnation: Temporal headaches, worse with the menses, PMS, irritability, menstrual cramps, gas, muscle tension and stiffness, red eyes, ear ringing.
Herbal formula: Xiao yao wan

Liver Heat: Temporal headaches, red eyes, ear ringing, rage, high blood pressure, jaw tension, subcostal pain, consistent agitation, dream disturbed sleep, more severe symptoms.
Herbal formula: Long dan xie gan tang

Liver Wind: Migrating headache, high blood pressure, dizziness, tremors, memory impairment, slurred speech
Herbal formula: Tian ma gou teng yin

Wind cold pathogen: Pain at the nape of the neck, occipital headache, ongoing cold/flu, dizziness
Herbal formula: Ge gen tang

Headache due to digestive weakness: diarrhea, constipation, headache behind the eyes, bloating, fatigue, sluggish after eating, food allergies
Herbal formulas: with diarrhea—Liu jun zi tang
With constipation—Ma zi ren wan

Blood deficiency: scanty menses, fatigue, empty feeling in head with dull achiness, pale, coldness, listlessness
Herbal formula: Ba zhen tang

The acupuncture point Large Intestine 4 is an excellent area to apply pressure to when you have a headache. The point is located just off the second metacarpal bone between the thumb and ring finger. This area is usually tender with most headache patterns. In general, I consider acupuncture to be an incredibly effective and safe option for people with chronic headaches of all kinds. I recommend committing to treatment once a week for 4-6 weeks for chronic headaches, then assessing for progress.

Dietary strategies may involve avoiding food sensitivities, and foods that cause inflammation such as refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, caffeine and alcohol. Drink plenty of filtered water to maintain hydration is also extremely important.

Meditation induces the relaxation response to promote deep tranquility and balance and engages the rest and restore parasympathetic nervous system. And massage can be beneficial to reduce muscle tension in the upper shoulders and neck.

It is my hope that this article has given you some newfound hope in treating headaches both safely and effectively.

Contact our office today to make your first appointment and find out more about the use of acupuncture for headaches.

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