Have you been suffering from headaches? Are you tired of taking medications for your headaches? Are you looking for a natural and safe way to help relieve your headaches? If so you are at the right place.  Chinese medicine has shown to be an effective natural treatment for headaches.

Headaches are a common health condition that affects many people. There are many different types and characteristics of headaches. There are also different kinds of treatments both conventional and alternative treatments

Western medical view of Headaches

Because headaches are such a common symptom, many times they are not related to any serious conditions. However, that being said there are times when you should be concerned when you have a headache. Some headaches may have the following signs and symptoms

• Dramatic onset- may suggest some type of internal bleeding
• Scalp tenderness in middle or old age
• Rashes
• Neck stiffness
• After traumatic injury

These signs and symptoms if there is prolonged headache may be a sign of a more serious condition, not always but possible.

Types of Headaches

There are different types of headaches.   Some of the most common types of headaches are tension headaches and migraine headaches. Tension headaches many times will feel like a band around your whole head. The pain is dull and nagging. Many times when you have elevated stress there may be tension headaches.

Migraine headaches are also a common type of headache. Migraines may have the following symptoms:

• Pulsating pain
• Unilateral pain
• Severe intensity
• Worse on activity
• Nausea and vomiting
• Light sensitivity

There could be many reasons why you can have a migraine headache such as hormones, diet, and stress.

Some other forms of headaches are cluster headaches, temporal arteritis, facial pain, increased intracranial pressure, meningeal pain, cervical spondylosis, and headache with common colds.

The treatments for most type of headaches are medications and rest. Many times the headaches will be reoccurring and is controlled by medications.

Chinese medicine viewpoint

Chinese medicine includes acupuncture, Chinese herbs, nutrition, medical massage, and exercise. When there is a patient with a headache we will look for different imbalances within the body to why there is a headache.    There are different diagnostic techniques we may use to diagnose the headache you may be experiencing.  Chinese medicine looks at the body as a whole to diagnose the root cause of the headache.

There could be many causes for headaches according to Chinese medical theory. Headaches are an imbalance within the body that is obstructing the blood flow. When there is no free flow there is pain. Imbalances within in our body are caused by improper diet, stress, over work, and lack of exercise. No matter what the cause is it is an imbalance that does not allow the blood to flow properly in your body.   To allow the free flow of blood acupuncture and Chinese herbs are most effective.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs will regulate your body and allow your body to become balanced to promote your body’s self-healing mechanisms. Physiologically, research has shown that acupuncture will act on the brain and release different chemicals, neurotransmitters, and hormones that will stimulate your body’s self-healing mechanisms.

To maintain headache free it is important to have good diet, exercise, and live in a balanced way. For example, there are those who will eat the same food every day. If you eat something everyday that is the same there could be a possibility that you may develop an allergy to that food and it will cause you to have a headache. So balance is important. Your food should be from all different colors and have variety everyday. When you strive to live in a more balanced way you will more likely be headache free.

If you are struggling with headache and want a natural way to relieve your pain, look into acupuncture and Chinese medicine to help you. Do not hesitate to contact us anytime at Master Lu’s Health Center in Salt Lake City.