Headaches (Migraine, Tension & Cluster)

Treatment of migraine or tension headache is one of our specialties at Irvine Acupuncture. Many people who visit us come with a history of chronic headaches. While a headache may sometimes be a warning sign of a more serious medical condition, most types of headache are either a migraine, tension headache , or a combination of both.

Migraine is associated with an abnormal spasm of the blood vessels in the brain and is therefore referred also as a “vascular headache “. Tension headache , which used to be referred to as a “muscle contraction headache “, is due to tension in the muscles of the head and neck.

Acupuncture is effective for both migraine and tension headaches. Careful evaluation is necessary to differentiate between these two conditions since the acupuncture treatment we provide is different for each condition.

Treatment and management of migraine is generally more complicated than tension headache. A series of treatments using an individually-designed approach to harmonize a person’s unique physiological and emotional balance is essential for the long term success.

Links

BBC News: Acupuncture ‘beats headache pain’

Medical News Today: Acupuncture cuts tension headache rates by almost half