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How migraines can be treated with traditional Chinese medicine
author:Lisa Camsource:TheSouthChinaMorningPost 2023-04-17 [Health]
20 years of headaches ended for one patient after 2 consultations

Migraines affect about 10 per cent of us, causing pain, tiredness and nausea and visual problems. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Samuel To (above) cured a woman’s chronic migraines after only two consultations. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

 

A searing pain tugging at your eyeball, a throbbing pain on the side of your head: migraines affect around 10 per cent of the world’s population.

Migraines are the third most common disease in the world, and the seventh most debilitating. People with the condition may spend more than one-twentieth of their lifetime enduring attacks.

They can be bed-bound for days, during which movement, light, sound and other triggers may cause pain, tiredness, nausea and more.

Hong Kong-based traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner Samuel To had one such patient who had suffered severe migraines for 20 years. She had a stressful job and worked long hours.

 

“Whenever she had a short deadline or was stressed out by work she would get a migraine,” To says.

“She had extreme light sensitivity. As soon as she got a migraine she would have to go home and take sick leave and the headaches would be accompanied by nausea. She only managed it with strong painkillers, and the migraines would return as soon as she stopped taking them.”

 

There are two main reasons for migraines, according to TCM, To says.

One is a disruption in the qi (energy) and blood flow because of imbalances in the body’s vitals, usually due to lifestyle factors such as long-term stress and fatigue that lead to troubled sleep.

The other is feng, or environmental factors, including exposure to wind, cold, heat or dampness. This constricts blood vessels in the head, slowing blood flow.

“Qi can be disrupted by blockages, while blood disruption is usually due to blood deficiency or blood ‘weakness’ in which the nutrients carried by the blood do not reach the head. This goes by the principle that pain is caused by disruptions in your body,” he says.

Hong Kong-registered Chinese medicine practitioner Yu Man-fung agrees.

“Migraine due to qi deficiency and blood weakness results in dizziness, pale complexion, spontaneous sweating, shortness of breath, and fatigue.”

Yu elaborates on these debilitating headaches – and TCM’s approach to ending them.

External factors disrupt your body’s normal balance. This can include something as simple as not drying your hair properly after washing itSamuel To Ching-shan, TCM practitioner

“Migraines caused by blood stasis (weak blood) can block the collaterals, the pathways where qi and blood circulate, and are likely to persist for a long time.

“Symptoms of this kind of headache include strong tingling sensations, which are aggravated by cloudy days or low air pressure, and at night.

“The main treatment is to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis to relieve pain,” Yu says.

To says: “Wind is considered one of the external evils. This is when external factors disrupt your body’s normal balance. This can include something as simple as not drying your hair properly after washing it or something as familiar as stress.”

Apart from herbal medicine, acupuncture is a good remedy for migraines, he suggests.

“Acupuncture can also be used to promote blood circulation … and dredge or clear the collaterals to make way for better qi and blood flow. Acupuncture can also invigorate the spleen and remove dampness.”

To help his long-suffering patient, To used a combination of treatments.

A patient receives acupuncture treatment for headaches. Photo: Samuel To

“I used acupuncture to clear her collaterals and used herbal medicine to strengthen her blood so that nutrients will reach her head,” To says.

“Someone who has had migraines for over two decades would have definite muscle and tendon tightness contributing to the headaches. So I used Chinese chiropractic methods to relieve the stress on her neck and shoulders.”

Lifestyle plays a huge role in migraines, Yu stresses.

“You should avoid wind and cold, maintain an optimistic moodhave enough sleep, eat a balanced diet regularly and exercise moderately, and avoid eating fried, spicy and frozen foods.”

To’s patient came to see him only twice for her headaches.

“I had my doubts whether I was able to help her after only two treatments – but I received a thank you card from her that read, ‘I’ve suffered 20 years from migraines and now, it’s finally cured’.”