Migraines can be debilitating and very difficult to manage. According to the American Migraine Association, over 36 million Americans have migraines, and many of those individuals suffer from chronic migraines. Fortunately, acupuncture can help relieve the pain associated with migraines and chronic migraines. Today, Arise Acupuncture goes over how acupuncture reduces migraine pain and why it might be a good treatment option for you.
How Does Acupuncture Help with Migraine Headaches?
Based on recent reviews of over 20 clinical trials involving over 4,000 individuals, the American Migraine Association found that acupuncture can reduce the frequency of headaches for those who suffer from migraines.
Acupuncture can reduce migraine headache frequency and even prevent them from happening. Acupuncture aims to restore the body’s flow of energy by stimulating nerves to release hormones, including endorphins to trigger a healing response. Acupuncture can also help with migraine headaches in the following ways:
Relax the body’s muscles
Help increase blood circulation
Encourage the body to release pain-relieving chemicals
The goal of acupuncture is to keep the energy flow in the body balanced. To help with migraine pain reduction, an acupuncturist will place thin needles at specific pressure points to slow down pain transmission.
Acupuncture Benefits for Migraine Headaches
Some of the benefits of acupuncture for migraine headaches include the following:
Headache/migraine headache prevention
Less side effects (as opposed to migraine medication)
Cost savings (conventional migraine therapies may be more expensive than acupuncture treatments)
Can Acupuncture Be Used to Treat Migraines Long Term?
The goals of acupuncture consist of helping a patient find relief from migraine pain and preventing future migraine attacks. Acupuncture has been proven to reduce migraine recurrence among patients who experience migraine headaches without aura.
How Many Acupuncture Treatments Do You Need to Reduce Migraines?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests a course of up to 10 acupuncture sessions over the course of 5 to 8 weeks to treat chronic tension-type headaches.
We recommend speaking to a licensed acupuncturist to figure out how many acupuncture sessions would be best for you.
Are you interested in learning more about how acupuncture can help with migraine relief? Schedule an acupuncture consultation today by getting in touch with us online
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