Having a headache makes it hard to do your everyday chores, to care for your family, or even to care for yourself. When headaches cross the line into chronic headaches or migraines, it’ time to seek help. According to WebMD there are 150 types of headaches, but we all know they all fall under one category: the kind you want to get rid of! The National Headache Foundation lists headaches sources including allergy, hypertension, menstrual, caffeine headache, eyestrain headaches and TMJ headaches.
If you are suffering from headaches or migraines, acupuncture might be able to help you.
Regardless of the type of headache you are suffering from, suffering is suffering and you want it to end, and acupuncture might be able to help you. There are some basic steps to take before you seek treatment of any kind. In this week’s blog, we’ll go over those and how acupuncture can help you too.
Tension Headaches
These dull throbbing headaches can be traced to muscles in the head or neck contracting from stress and causing pain.
Dehydration
Not drinking enough water can lead to headaches, especially if you drink diuretics like coffee, tea or alcohol. What you are feeling is actually your brain shrinking and pulling away from your skull. This is not a fact you want to read while you are experiencing it!
Make sure you are drinking enough water to compensate for any water loss you experience from diuretics. This is a good category to check off as a cause of your headache and easy to remedy. If you are planning on drinking lots of coffee or alcohol, be sure to drink before hand and alternate between your beverage and a glass of water.
Eyestrain
If you notice your headaches occurring only while driving or reading, they might be eyestrain headaches and an eye exam and glasses can remedy them easily.
Migraines
Migraines come in many kinds, from cluster headaches to headaches with will auras that send the sufferer to bed for days on end.
Some migraines are attributable to tension, hormone fluctuations, nitrates in chocolate or red wine, while other migraines are mysterious in origin.
A TMJ headache is caused by a misalignment of the jaw, and when the muscles around the jaw become tightened, the pain can worsen.
Acupuncture can help!
The belief behind acupuncture holds that there are energy channels that carry the life force, or chi, through the body via meridians and these channels can experience blockages or congestion. Acupuncture through the insertion of tiny, but precisely placed needles can alleviate these blockages and the pain that is caused by them.
Acupuncture can help muscles, tightened by tension or injury, to relax. This can help relieve tension headaches, migraines, and TMJ headaches, to name a few.
Adrenaline and endorphins can also be released during an acupuncture treatment, and these natural chemicals can aid in pain relief for up to a few days and this can give your body time to adjust itself.
If you are experiencing regular headaches, call today to schedule an appointment.