HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES? Read Here..
Headaches and Migraines can greatly effect every aspect of a persons’ life. Time off from work, spending time with family and friends and fun activities come to a screeching halt with countless hours spent in bed or at home waiting for the pain to stop so you can regain your life again.
Whether your headaches or migraines are mild or severe, Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine can offer you powerful relief while minimizing medications and over the counter drugs and their side effects. Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is a Healthcare system that has been in use for thousands of years and proven quite effective for most circumstances. Oriental Medicine uses acupuncture, Acupressure, Tui Na Massage, cupping, specific exersizes and Chinese herbal formulas specifically designed for each individuals health situation. You may read about each of these on my website https://acudocweb.tripod.com/index.html

How I diagnose Headaches and Migraines

Oriental Medicine Physicians diagnosis differently from western Medical Physicians in that we group symptoms that occur in all areas of the body and not just what is going on with your headache. We look at the whole body. There are many types of Acupuncturists now. These is 8 principle Acupuncturists which use observation, palpation, asking specific questions etc, There are 5 element acupuncturist which use only the 5 elements grouping your symptoms into one of them and treating accordingly. There are medical acupuncturists which treat only pain, and symptoms and not the root problem, there are other acupuncturists who treat according to the bagua in relation to the 12 main channels of the body, there is imaging acupuncture diagnosis which takes for instance your area of the headache, and they superimpose it on another area of the body and needle it instead of the head and there are other types of diagnoses that acupuncturist use not mentioned. Going to one of the best schools in the country, we were taught several types of diagnoses and were told we could then decide for ourselves which worked best for us. I most often diagnose with 8 principle and also use my intuitive abilities to gain further insight and needle placement. I will sometimes use imagery, and 12 channel when I feel it appropriate.

Headaches can thus be diagnosed as;
acute(sudden attack and/or short duration) or Chronic (long duration)
Deficiency or an excess
Internal or external
Hot or cold
And which body organ or channel is related, or qi, blood or body fluid.
From these, taking 6-12 pulses at the wrist, looking at your tongues body and coating , your over all appearance(complexion, tone, gate,qi, nails,eyes etc), and asking questions, Acupuncture physicians will come up with a one of several of these diagnoses;

The Many Possible Types of Headache or Migraine O.M. Diagnoses are:

1) Wind-cold
2) Wind heat
3) Wind damp
4) Liver yang
5) Kidney yin
6) Kidney yang
7) Blood deficiency
8) Qi deficiency
9) Phlegm turbidity
10) Blood stasis


What Acupuncture will do for you:


1) stop the pain or lessen it greatly
2) improve your immune system thus effecting and improving your overall health
3) Prevent future occurrences
4) Mimimization or totally stopping use of prescription and over the counter medications and their annoying side effects.
5) Vitality; that improves your overall health, gives you energy, sense of well-being, happiness, ability to do what you haven’t been able to do in a long time. Freedom to move and do fun activities with family and friends than what you were able to do before.

What is the treatment like?

Many find it relaxing. It is certainly not painful as many with the thoughts of needles being placed in the body bothers them, I often take the time to show them on my arm and then on their arm just how simple and easy it is. The reaction I often get is, the patient wondering when I am going to insert the needle when it is already in. many seek acupuncture anyway because they have heard the great effects it has on one of their friends or acquaintances and they just need relief and have tried everything else. You don’t have to try everything else before trying acupuncture and if you absolutely insist on no needles, there are other ways to treat without needles, although I often recommend them depending on your condition. Sometimes we can do without them.
A Practitioner will often palpate gently at the pain site and on the legs and arms to find what we call ‘aushi’ points. These are tender spots that correspond to what is going on with you. These spots will be either needles or given some other form of stimulation as provided in Oriental Medicine. Several treatment are usually required depending on if it is acute or chronic. Acute conditions are usually cleared up in up to four treatments and vary per individual. Chronic conditions require more until until pain is under control then treatments are lessened until the syndrome is completely gone. Patients usually come in 1-2 times a week, however, count on at least once a week.

References include:
Practical Therapeutics of T.C.M., 1997
by Yan Wu
The Foundations of Chinese Medicine,1989
by Giovanni Maciocia
Acupuncture Treats Headaches and Migraines, 2004
by Diane Joswick, L.Ac.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call anytime, leave a message and I’ll call you back shortly. 520-440-5770
?Copyright 2005 Dr. Rev. Melanie J. Myers L.Ac. O.M.