Acupuncture & Headaches: Part 2 – Natural Medicine for Migraines
I am willing to bet that you know someone or most likely several people suffering with migraines, and there’s a good chance you are one of them. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, 36 million Americans get migraine headaches, and women sufferers outpace men 3 to 1.1
Based on my previous blog on Chronic Headaches, migraines account for 80% of all types headaches. Migraines are typically characterized by intense throbbing pain, often but not always on one side of the head and lasting 4 to 72 hours. Many times there are also visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face.
The bad news is that the medical field knows little about what causes them. Statistics show that they run in families and there are multiple potential triggers like food, alcohol, caffeine and insomnia. However not everyone has the same triggers and in some cases they occur randomly.
Acupuncture the answer for migraines
The good news is that there are many scientific and clinical studies that show acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for migraines alone or in conjunction with traditional therapies. Below are links to some of the recent articles that have appeared on the subject. When you see conflicted “scientific evidence” please note that the results of migraine relief was clearly proven in these studies, however, the mechanism for relief was not clearly understood because sham acupuncture cannot be separated from real acupuncture. Both affect the body which is why acupressure can be almost as effective as acupuncture. Keep in mind that just because science cannot explain how acupuncture works, does not mean it doesn’t work. Don’t let others decide what is right for you. See for yourself.
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20050503/acupuncture-may-be-useful-for-migraines
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20120112/acupuncture-may-be-effective-for-migraines
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/526-acupuncturemrimigrainepointspeci
