Acupuncture and Migraines
Written by Crystal Ruizmun
Migraines are extreme headaches that involve throbbing and pulsing sensations on one side of your head. These usually last a few hours but can last up to a few days. Apart from medication, there are a few non-medicated treatments for this and some include isolation in a dark room to remove any sort of irritation to light, regulated sleep, acupuncture, and many more.
Acupuncture is a new leading treatment to relieve migraines, with medical evidence to support the alleviation. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese approach by stimulating specific points on the skin with needles. These specific points are pressure points and the needles break into these to relieve the pain around these areas and their connections. Acupuncture helps with a variety of things. Some of these include reducing pain, inflammation, and tightness in muscles. Because of the stimulation of pressure points, it promotes relaxation and regulates serotonin levels in the brain.
With this, it stimulates certain nerves to release hormones in which areas result from the stimulation of the circulatory system. As a result, this stimulation helps reduce and weaken headache pains. With acupuncture being considered an accredited medical treatment, the progression to alleviating migraines looks extremely promising. As someone who suffers from frequent migraines, I have certain opinions on medications and non-medicated treatments and have yet to try acupuncture but will try it as I know and have heard from those close to me who have said acupuncture did alleviate their migraines for certain periods.
References
Urits, I., Patel, M., Putz, M. E., Monteferrante, N. R., Nguyen, D., An, D., Cornett, E. M., Hasoon, J., Kaye, A. D., & Viswanath, O. (2020). Acupuncture and Its Role in the Treatment of Migraine Headaches. Neurology and therapy, 9(2), 375–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40120-020-00216-1 Migraine: What It Is, Types, Causes, Symptoms & Treatments (clevelandclinic.org) Acupuncture: How It Works, Benefits, and Results for Pain (healthline.com)
Written by Crystal Ruizmun from MEDILOQUY