Migraines and recurring headaches can affect far more than just your head. They can interfere with work, sleep, exercise, concentration, and your ability to enjoy everyday life. The good news is that you don’t need to suffer, and there is a natural, effective treatment without side effects.
For some people, headaches occur occasionally. For others, they become a recurring problem, with attacks that may last for hours or even days. Migraines can also involve nausea, sensitivity to light or sound, visual disturbances, and significant fatigue.
Acupuncture may be a useful treatment option for people who experience recurring migraines, tension headaches, and other types of headaches. Research suggests that acupuncture can reduce migraine frequency for some people, particularly when used as part of an ongoing treatment plan.
At my clinic, I use an individualized approach based on Balance Method Acupuncture, rather than treating every headache in exactly the same way.
What Is the Difference Between a Migraine and a Headache?
“Headache” is a broad term describing pain or discomfort in the head. Headaches can have many different patterns and causes.
A migraine is a neurological condition that can involve much more than head pain. A migraine attack may include:
- Throbbing or pulsating pain
- Pain on one or both sides of the head
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Sensitivity to smells
- Visual changes or other symptoms known as aura
- Neck stiffness
- Fatigue or feeling drained after an attack
Not everyone experiences all of these symptoms, and migraine patterns can vary considerably from person to person.
Tension-type headaches, on the other hand, are often described as pressure, tightness, or a dull ache. Tension in the neck, shoulders, jaw, and upper back may be associated with this type of headache.
Understanding the pattern of your headaches is an important part of deciding how to approach treatment.
Common Headache and Migraine Triggers
There is rarely one single explanation for why someone develops recurring headaches or migraines.
Common triggers can include:
- Stress and emotional strain
- Poor or irregular sleep
- Skipping meals
- Dehydration
- Hormonal changes
- Changes in routine
- Certain foods or drinks
- Bright light or strong smells
- Weather changes
- Prolonged screen use
- Muscle tension in the neck and shoulders
Migraine is complex, and triggers are highly individual. Keeping a headache diary can sometimes help identify patterns between your symptoms and your daily activities, sleep, food, stress, or other factors.
This is one reason I don’t approach every headache in the same way.
How Can Acupuncture Help With Migraines and Headaches?
Acupuncture is often used to help reduce the frequency and intensity of recurring headaches and migraines.
A Cochrane review of acupuncture for migraine prevention found that acupuncture was associated with a reduction in headache frequency compared with no acupuncture. The review also found a smaller but statistically significant benefit compared with sham acupuncture.
This does not mean that acupuncture will eliminate migraines for everyone. Rather, the evidence suggests it can be a reasonable treatment option for people seeking additional ways to manage recurring migraines.
The goal of treatment is often to help reduce:
- How frequently headaches occur
- How intense they become
- How long they last
- Associated neck and shoulder tension
- The disruption headaches cause to daily life
Your response to treatment is individual, and treatment is adjusted according to your symptoms and progress.
Balance Method Acupuncture for Migraines
My approach incorporates Balance Method Acupuncture, which uses a different way of assessing the body’s patterns of imbalance.
Rather than simply placing needles directly around the area where you feel pain, treatment may involve acupuncture points in other parts of the body.
For example, depending on your presentation, treatment may take into account the relationship between your headache and areas such as the neck, shoulders, arms, legs, or other parts of the body.
The purpose is not simply to chase the location of the pain. Instead, I look at the overall pattern and how your symptoms change during treatment.
This individualized approach is particularly useful when headaches have become recurring or when the same headache pattern keeps returning.
Neck, Shoulder and Jaw Tension
For many people with recurring headaches, tension in the neck, shoulders, upper back, or jaw can be an important part of the overall picture.
Long periods at a computer, repetitive work, stress, poor sleep, or prolonged sitting can contribute to muscular tension.
If your headaches are associated with neck stiffness, shoulder tension, jaw tension, or discomfort around the base of the skull, these areas may be considered as part of your acupuncture assessment.
Other techniques, such as Tui Na, may also be incorporated when appropriate.
What Happens During an Acupuncture Treatment?
Your first appointment begins with an assessment of your headache or migraine pattern.
I will want to understand things such as:
- How often your headaches occur
- Where you feel the pain
- What the pain feels like
- How long an attack typically lasts
- What symptoms occur before or during an attack
- Whether you experience nausea, light sensitivity, or aura
- Your sleep and stress patterns
- Neck, shoulder, or jaw tension
- Factors that appear to trigger or worsen your symptoms
The treatment is then individualized according to your presentation.
Acupuncture treatments use very fine needles inserted into specific acupuncture points. The number and location of points can vary from one person to another.
Some people notice changes during or shortly after treatment, while for others the effects become more apparent over a series of treatments.
How Many Acupuncture Treatments Are Needed?
Most people with recurring migraines or headaches benefit from a treatment period of approximately two to three months. In the beginning, treatments are typically scheduled once or twice a week, depending on the frequency and severity of the headaches and how you respond to treatment.
As your symptoms improve and stabilize, treatments can usually be spaced further apart. Some people may eventually benefit from occasional treatments to help maintain their progress and prevent headaches from returning as frequently.
Chinese herbal medicine is also very effective and is given according to TCM diagnosis.
Can Acupuncture Be Used Alongside Medical Treatment?
Yes. Acupuncture does not need to replace conventional medical care.
Migraine is a medical condition, and some people benefit from a combination of approaches, including medication, lifestyle changes, and complementary treatments.
If you have already been diagnosed with migraine or are taking medication for headaches, acupuncture can be considered as an additional approach. You should continue prescribed medications unless your healthcare professional advises otherwise.
If your headaches have never been properly assessed, especially if they are becoming more frequent or changing in character, it is important to discuss them with your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional.
Recall Healing and Headaches
Most people understand that stress and emotional tension can trigger migraines and headaches. Recall Healing goes deeper by exploring why a particular emotional conflict may manifest as a migraine or headache rather than through another symptom.
The Role of the Subconscious Mind
A large part of our emotional and behavioral patterns operates beneath conscious awareness. Experiences from our childhood, family, relationships, and significant events can create subconscious patterns that continue to influence how we respond to situations later in life.
Recall Healing works with these subconscious patterns to identify the emotional conflicts that may be connected to a person’s symptoms.
The Emotional Root of Migraines
From the Recall Healing perspective, migraines can be associated with subconscious conflicts involving the mind, intellectual ability, problem-solving, achievement, and the pressure to perform or prove oneself.
Depending on the individual, the underlying conflict may involve:
- Feeling pressure to be intelligent, successful, or capable
- The need to find a solution to a difficult problem
- Feeling unable to find a rational solution
- Pressure connected with leadership or responsibility
- Conflicts involving authority or a father figure
- A strong need to prove one’s intellectual or professional value
These patterns are not assumed to be the same for everyone. The purpose of Recall Healing is to identify the specific emotional conflict behind each individual’s symptom.
How Recall Healing Works
The process begins with a detailed exploration of the person’s history. This may include childhood experiences, conception, pregnancy, birth, family history, significant life events, relationships, and recurring emotional patterns.
Through the consultation, the subconscious emotional conflict connected to the migraine or headache can be identified and brought into conscious awareness.
The objective is not simply to identify that someone is stressed. It is to understand what the stress means to that particular person, where the pattern originated, and why the body may be expressing it through migraines or headaches.
When the underlying emotional conflict becomes conscious, a person can begin to understand and release the emotional pattern that has been influencing the symptom.
Finding the Individual Subconscious Conflict
The same symptom can have a completely different emotional meaning from one person to another.
For this reason, simply knowing that stress can cause headaches is not enough. Recall Healing looks for the specific subconscious conflict connected to the individual’s life experience and family history.
By identifying these hidden patterns, a person can gain a new understanding of their symptoms and begin to break repetitive emotional and stress patterns that may have been contributing to recurring migraines.
Recall Healing and Acupuncture
Recall Healing and acupuncture can complement each other by addressing different aspects of the same problem.
Balance Method Acupuncture focuses on restoring balance in the body and can provide direct relief from headache and migraine symptoms, while Recall Healing works with the subconscious emotional root of the symptom.
When appropriate, combining the two approaches can provide a more comprehensive approach to both the physical and emotional aspects of recurring migraines and headaches.
Recall Healing consultations with Elad Shalev are available online worldwide.
When Should a Headache Be Medically Evaluated?
Most headaches are not caused by a serious medical emergency. However, some headache patterns require prompt medical assessment.
Seek urgent medical attention for a headache that is sudden and extremely severe, particularly if it feels like a “thunderclap” headache, or if it occurs with symptoms such as confusion, seizures, weakness or numbness, difficulty speaking, double vision, fever, or a stiff neck.
A headache following a head injury, a new headache later in life, or a headache that is substantially different from your usual pattern should also be medically evaluated.
Acupuncture should not be used as a substitute for emergency medical assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can acupuncture help migraines?
Yes. Acupuncture can be very effective for reducing the frequency, intensity, and duration of migraines. Many people experience fewer and less severe migraine attacks with a consistent course of acupuncture treatment.
How many acupuncture treatments do I need for migraines?
Most people benefit from approximately two to three months of treatment. In the beginning, treatments are generally scheduled once or twice a week. As the migraines improve and stabilize, treatments can be gradually spaced further apart.
Can acupuncture help tension headaches?
Yes. Acupuncture is commonly used for tension headaches and can be particularly helpful when headaches are associated with tension or discomfort in the neck, shoulders, upper back, or jaw.
Can I have acupuncture during a migraine?
Yes. Acupuncture can be performed during an active migraine and may help reduce the intensity and discomfort of an attack. Treatment is adapted to your condition at the time of the appointment.
Is acupuncture safe?
Yes. Acupuncture is a well-established treatment when performed by a properly trained practitioner using sterile, single-use needles. Most people tolerate acupuncture very well. Minor bruising, temporary soreness, or light bleeding can occasionally occur at the needle sites.
Do I need to stop my migraine medication?
No. Acupuncture can be used alongside your existing migraine treatment. Continue taking prescribed medication as directed by your healthcare provider.
Acupuncture for Migraines and Headaches in Whitecourt and Surrounding Areas
If you suffer from recurring migraines or headaches, Elad Shalev provides individualized acupuncture treatments designed to address your specific symptoms and underlying patterns.
Acupuncture treatments are available in Whitecourt, Woodlands County, Barrhead, and surrounding areas.
For those interested in exploring the subconscious emotional root of recurring migraines and headaches, Recall Healing consultations are available online worldwide.
Book an acupuncture consultation today and take the first step toward reducing the frequency and intensity of your migraines and headaches.