Using TCM to Alleviate Headaches

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- Joaquina Mascuch
- Bradley Mascuch
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About Us
- Joaquina Mascuch
- Bradley Mascuch
Our Services
What We Treat
Blog
FAQ
Contact

By Joaquina Cante

“A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache”. Catherine the Great

Headaches are a warning sign from your body that something is off and it’s best to not ignore the signs your body is sending you. Finding relief can be difficult and many fall back on using aspirin or ibuprofen to alleviate the pain. While this provides a temporary fix it does not address the more serious underlying issues.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is premised on finding the root cause of the headaches. It takes into account factors like stress, environment, diet, worry. All of these things create imbalances over long periods of time that cause deficiency or excess in the five organ systems. TCM’s goal is to bring the body back into balance which will greatly reduce or even eliminate the headaches completely.

Useful Headache Facts:

1) Location! Any TCM practitioner will ask you where you are having headaches to get a clearer idea about which meridian is being affected. For example, headaches in the temple region usually indicate a Gallbladder issue; a frontal headache corresponds to the Stomach channel; and a headache on the top of the head correspond to the Liver or Kidney channels. This is an additional diagnostic tool that is helpful when determining the root cause of the imbalance.

2) A headache that commonly occurs during PMS are related to the Liver function as well which is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi and Blood. When this becomes sluggish or stagnant problems such as irritability, breast distention, and headaches occur. Liver is a very important part of woman’s health.

3) Headaches that occur in the forehead area, especially after eating, indicate there is a deficiency of the Stomach Qi. In other words, your stomach is lacking the proper energy, or Qi, to digest your food properly. This might also be indicative of an ongoing digestive issue.

These are a few examples of headache patterns in Chinese Medicine just to give you an idea of how we assess your particular condition. In my experience, TCM is incredibly effective for treating headaches. TCM will help you get long lasting relief without the need for pain killers that can cause negative side effects. We will also address the root problem of your headaches so that you can actually have long term relief.

Give acupuncture a try if you are interested in an alternative approach to treating your headaches.