Headaches and migraine

For tension headaches, headaches that start in the neck, and migraine. We look at the neck, the jaw and the pattern behind the episodes, and we work alongside your physician or neurologist.

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Read through

BothWesternClassical

Two lenses, one plan

Wood 木 is the phase it is most often read through. Here the Western lens leads, with the classical lens alongside.

The Western lensAnatomy, physiology, biomechanics

Neck muscles, posture and the nervous system

Many tension-type headaches come as a cluster: tight upper trapezius and suboccipital muscles, a forward head, clenching at night and a nervous system that never quite downshifts. Migraine is a neurological condition with its own triggers, and we work alongside your physician.

Referred pain: A tight band in the upper trapezius, the suboccipitals or the sternocleidomastoid can send pain to the temple, the forehead or behind the eye, so the headache is not always where the problem is.
Headaches from the neck: Cervicogenic headache starts in the neck itself, often through the suboccipitals, the sternocleidomastoid and the scalenes.
Keeping track: Frequency, intensity and duration are tracked across a course of care, so we can both see what is changing.

The classical lensChannels, patterns, the five phases

Rising and deficiency

The Liver and Gallbladder channels run along the temples. Many headaches are read as constrained Liver qi turning into rising heat or wind, often after long stretches of stress or poor sleep. Others come from blood too thin to nourish the head, from cold, or from phlegm clouding it.

Where it sits: Pain at the temples, the forehead, the back of the head or the top of the head points to different channels, and the points follow.

Patterns we often see

Liver yang rising gān yáng shàng kàng 肝陽上亢
Blood deficiency failing to nourish the head xuè xū 血虛
Phlegm turbidity clouding the head tán zhuó 痰濁
Blood stasis in the channels yū xuè zǔ luò 瘀血阻絡

Patterns are examples of how this is often read, never a diagnosis. Yours is read at your visit.

How we work: one plan

Needling and hands-on release of the neck and shoulder muscles involved, distal Master Tung's points and scalp acupuncture where they fit, with classical points and herbs chosen from the pattern behind the headaches. The aim over a course of care is fewer, shorter and milder episodes, measured with you rather than promised.

Three kinds we see most

Tension-type headache feels like a band or a weight, often across the forehead or the back of the head, and builds through the day. It is the most common kind.

Cervicogenic headache starts in the neck itself. It usually sits on one side, comes on with neck movement or long hours in one posture, and often climbs from the base of the skull toward the eye. Pressing on the right spot in the neck can bring it on. See neck pain.

Migraine is a neurological condition with its own rhythm: throbbing, often on one side, with nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, sometimes after an aura. Visual auras without much pain have their own page, ocular migraine. Migraine diagnosis and medication belong with your physician or neurologist.

Many people have more than one kind at once, which is part of why a log matters.

The jaw and the neck

Clenching at night loads the temporalis, which fans across the temple, and the masseter at the angle of the jaw. Both can feed a morning headache. If you wake with a sore jaw or your dentist mentions wear, read TMJ and jaw pain too; the wider group lives under headaches and jaw.

How we work with it

For tension and cervicogenic headaches, dry needling and orthopedic acupuncture of the neck, shoulder and jaw muscles that refer pain to the head, with Active Release Techniques where tissue has stopped gliding and posture corrections you can practice at a desk. For migraine the weight shifts toward distal Master Tung's points, scalp acupuncture and a classical formula chosen from your pattern. During a flare we keep needling away from the head and neck.

We compare your log from visit to visit: frequency, intensity and duration. That record, not a promise, tells us both whether the plan is working.

Questions people ask

Can acupuncture help migraines?

Acupuncture has been studied for migraine prevention for many years, and research is ongoing. We use it to work on how often episodes come, how long they last and how hard they hit, tracked with you over a course of care. Your neurologist or physician stays in charge of the diagnosis and any medication.

Should I keep taking my headache medication?

Yes. Keep every prescription and preventive exactly as your physician directed. Any change is a conversation with your prescriber, and herbs are checked against what you take.

What should I track before my first visit?

A simple log helps a great deal: the date, where the pain sat, how strong it was, how long it lasted, and anything that came before it such as poor sleep, a missed meal, screen time or your cycle.

When is a headache an emergency?

A sudden, explosive headache, the worst of your life, or a headache with fever and a stiff neck, weakness, confusion, trouble speaking or a change in vision needs emergency care. Call 911. So does a new severe headache after a head injury.

From the journal

This is general wellness information, not medical advice.

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