What is migraine?

Migraine is one of the most common neurological conditions in the developed world. It affects 10% of the U.K. population and is more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined.

Migraine is more than just a headache. It can be a debilitating condition, which has a considerable impact on the quality of life of sufferers and their families. Attacks can be completely disabling, forcing the sufferer to abandon everyday activities for up to 3 days. Even in symptom-free periods, sufferers may live in fear of the next attack.

Stress, noise and food are among the triggers, which can initiate the onset of a migraine headache. Symptoms may include vomiting, nausea, extreme incapacitating pain, visual images such as flashes, and sensitivity to outside stimuli including light, sounds and smells.

Those who suffer from migraines tend to have a more sensitive central nervous system than normal. Migraines are an extremely debilitating affliction disproportionately affecting women. And migraine "headaches" are much more severe that ordinary headaches, with pain that may be described as "hammering" or "pulsating".

How can Acupuncture help if pain killers won't?

At its onset, sufferers can take painkillers to relieve its effects, but this often only provides short-term relief and in some cases is completely ineffectual. In contrast to treatment with ordinary painkillers, acupuncture provides an effective and powerful method to ease migraines with minimal or no side effects.

By stimulating acupuncture points, the body prompts the nervous system to release endorphins (which are chemically related to morphine) and other natural chemicals that relieve pain. There is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine, which maintains that all types of pain, including the severe pain of migraine headaches, result from blood stagnation in the meridians. Acupuncture treatment can promote blood circulation, remove blood stagnation, and unblock meridians to relieve the symptoms. With increased cerebral circulation, the afflicted region obtains sufficient blood supply, oxygen and nutrition. Treating symptoms at the earliest possible opportunity increases the strength of positive results.

The majority of people with migraines seek acupuncture treatment after experimenting with other more conventional methods. While some people may feel immediate comfort from acupuncture, it usually takes four or five treatments to see a significant improvement. For initial treatment, the acupuncturist may advise one to two visits per week for a couple of weeks, then reduce it to once a week for two to three weeks, with follow-up treatments as needed.

What causes migraine?

Migraine is believed to be caused by the release of a chemical called serotonin into the bloodstream from its storage sites in the body, resulting in changes in the neurotransmitters and blood vessels in the brain. Exactly what causes this to happen is still a subject for research and debate. However certain factors have been identified which can trigger attacks in susceptible people:

. Stress or sometimes the relief of stress
. Lack of food or infrequent meals
. Foods containing monosodium glutamate, caffeine and tyramine
. Certain specific foods like chocolate, citrus fruits, cheese
. Alcohol, especially red wine
. Overtiredness (physical or mental)
. Changes in sleep patterns

How to treat migraine

Although there is, as yet, no miracle cure for migraine it is possible to bring your condition under control. There is now a wide range of treatments available which can be very effective, but migraine is a complex condition and a treatment, which is successful for one patient, may have no effect on another. It is therefore important to persevere until you develop a management plan, which works for YOU.

Around 60% of migraine sufferers have never consulted their doctor about their migraine either because they don't like to bother him or her, or they believe that nothing can be done to help them. They may feel that a treatment prescribed in the past did not help and they have not felt it worthwhile to go back. There are many treatments now available and new products are introduced very frequently. Your doctor and your pharmacist are important allies in your battle against migraine and their advice and support can be invaluable.

What are the treatments for migraine from an allopathic perspective? Imitrex® (sumatriptan succinate) is described as "an abortive medication used for the treatment of Migraine attacks in adults". Imitrex® is the oldest of the new 'Tripans' Migraine wonder drugs. This is a highly effective acute treatment, which appeared in 1993, which will work with efficiency for most migraines, and has very few side effects."

Who does it affect?

Migraine affects around 6 million people in the U.K. with more sufferers than diabetes, asthma and epilepsy combined. It is responsible for the loss of over 18 million working days each year. Despite this, migraine remains a misunderstood and under managed condition.

While migraines affect far fewer people than tension-type headaches and have a much shorter duration, their symptoms are much more severe. They typically affect women more frequently than men, with pain that usually occurs on one side of the head. Migraines can be so severe that they can cause loss of appetite, blurred vision, nausea and even vomiting.

Can migraine be hereditary, and what other effects are there?

Migraine is a neurological condition, and often a hereditary disease also. Migraine is typically characterised by severe, recurring head pain, usually located on one side of the head and one or more of the following associated symptoms: nausea; vomiting; and increased sensitivity to light, sound and smell. Other associated symptoms may include light-headedness, diarrhoea and scalp tenderness. Migraine symptoms vary for each individual sufferer, making diagnosis. The key to an effective treatment program is complicated.

One recent study concluded that migraines might be due to stomach infection with Helicobacter pylori, a common bacterial agent. The study concluded that a treatment strategy, which combined antibiotics and the "friendly bacteria”, Lactobacillus, was effective for many individuals, though others rose questions over the study’s design which failed to use double-blind controls. From a Chinese medicine perspective, frequent and unnecessary antibiotic locks the pathogen inside the body, causing energy stagnation in the digestive system, and chronic internal heat patterns. Chinese medicine, in particular herbs, can be used to gently strengthen and balance the digestive energies, which may alleviate the headaches. It is important to seek a proper diagnosis from a licensed practitioner though. There are no miracle pills, and each herbal formula must be matched to the unique diagnostic pattern of the patient.

What about acupuncture, migraine and meridians?

Acupuncturists suggest that migraine headaches are caused by an imbalance in the body's flow of energy. They use acupuncture to re-establish this equilibrium, thereby treating the cause and the pain of migraine.  Although acupuncture can ease the pain of an attack, this therapy is best used as a preventive treatment for migraine.

Before treating with acupuncture, you need to ascertain the location of the headache. Because the head is traversed by many meridians, the location of the headache determines which meridians are involved. For example:

Each of these headaches is relieved by applying acupuncture to different points.

In addition, the acupuncturist will want to know what the pain is like, if it is associated with particular weather patterns, food intake, time of day, and so on.   After determining this, the acupuncturist will be able to design a treatment program to restore the flow of chi to normal and prevent the recurrence of headache.

Has Acupuncture as a treatment, been proven to be effective?

Acupuncture is shown to be effective in treating migraine headaches. The exact mechanism of action is not known. One theory suggests that acupuncture releases endorphins, the brain's natural painkillers. Another states acupuncture may stabilize levels of serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain. Research done has shown that after as few as 12 treatment sessions, patients experience fewer and less-severe migraine attacks.  Acupuncture is often coupled with Chinese herbs, changes in diet and lifestyle, vitamin supplements, and other measures.

Always seek health advice from your doctor, or local  Health Outlet. AcuMedic will be very pleased to offer advice regarding difficulties with this condition. Please see our Clinic

Please note that although we are confident that our treatments will help the majority of our patients, we cannot absolutely guarantee a cure as the needs and difficulties of each patient can differ greatly