Headaches can seriously ruin your day. Whether you have a marathon to run or a presentation to present, having a headache can severely impair your productivity. In fact, statistics estimate that up to 50% of the world population will experience a headache at some point during their life! That’s a lot of headaches, people!
Headaches are also among the most common complaints reported by both adults and children. Today, more than ever before, people have tried a number of remedies to treat their headaches — some have worked while others haven’t. Could acupuncture be one of the treatments that actually works?
Acupuncture for headaches has been around for centuries
Acupuncture is a treatment that has been around for centuries. It involves inserting super-thin needles into the skin at specific points of the body to help treat certain conditions. The idea behind acupuncture is that it can help rebalance the flow of your life force, called qi, through your body.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says that acupuncture may be helpful in relieving headaches, including migraines and tension headaches. A large review of studies published in Cephalalgia found that people with chronic headaches or migraines had better results when they added acupuncture to their regular routine than they did with conventional medicines alone.
Acupuncture stimulates healing
Acupuncture is used to encourage natural healing, improve mood and energy, reduce or relieve pain and improve function of affected areas of the body. It is safe and effective and is often successfully used as an alternative to medications or even surgery. Relief is often obtained with acupuncture when traditional medical therapy has failed.
Acupuncture is not just for headaches
The medical treatments we associate with acupuncture are not limited to headaches and aches and pains. Acupuncture can be effective for a wide range of health problems, including digestive issues, skin problems like eczema, insomnia and psychological problems such as depression and anxiety.
Acupuncture can be used to treat an array of emotional disorders, including anger, grief, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
It is often used during pregnancy to bring on labor or to turn a breech baby. It is also used to reduce the symptoms of menopause and it relieves pain by releasing endorphins in the body.
Acupuncture is also used for addiction treatment for substances like heroin, alcohol and cocaine. Withdrawal symptoms are lessened with a few “tune up” sessions that help the body deal with withdrawal from alcohol or drugs.
Acupuncture is also effective for treating chronic conditions like asthma, hypertension and arthritis by helping the immune system function better.
Acupuncture can help relieve gastrointestinal conditions like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, ulcers diarrhea and acid reflux disease (GERD). It relaxes the stomach muscles and improves digestion by increasing blood flow to the digestive organs.
Acupuncture can be an effective treatment for headaches
Acupuncture is a viable option for headache patients, one that can complement traditional medical treatments. While it’s still likely a good idea to keep aspirin or ibuprofen on hand at all times, seeking out an acupuncture practitioner should be considered an important next step. Acupuncture has been used to treat headaches in Asia for thousands of years; it was only recently introduced to the West, but its efficacy has been confirmed by numerous studies; and now, millions use it as a part of their regular headache treatment regimen.
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