From a biomedical perspective, a migraine is a common, chronic and intermittently disabling neurovascular disorder.
The presence of aura is a very common type of migraine. Migraine with aura as sporadic hemiplegic migraine. (In this case it can get triggered by certain foods, certain odours, bright light, too little or too much sleep, physical exertion, stress or minor head trauma.) Hemiplegic migraine presents with motor weakness at times, symptoms that occur just before the headache, like hallucinations, numbness, changes in speech, visual changes.
Patients often experience migraines without aura. Migraine risks increase when a patient presents with the following: asymmetry of pain; throbbing pain; pain that is moderate to severe in intensity; pain accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light, sound, and often smell; the presence of typical migraine aura symptoms; and a family history of migraine.
From a TCM perspective, acupuncture affects the mechanisms of pain by its vasodilatory effect on the radial artery. It also has a strong analgesic effect and anti inflammatory effect on migraines.
Acupuncture has been found to be more effective than both control treatment and preventive migraine pharmaceuticals. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory classifies migraine as an external invasion or an internal disruption. The qi and blood of the body’s organs channels, all ascend to the head. Stagnation of qi and blood is often present with migraine. According to Chinese Medicine there are excess types of migraine, typically short in duration, from external forces such as wind, cold, dampness, or heat.
Persistent long duration migraines are caused by internal disruption and so seen as deficiency types which lead to excess as well overtime. Other factors include weather, stress, emotions, sexual activity, diet, posture, menstruation, and hypertension. Damp phlegm accumulation due to eating fatty, greasy, or sweet food or dairy products initiates migraine. Drinking alcohol or eating pungent food can cause flare-ups of stomach or liver fire. When migraine headaches are stress related it can also be caused by muscular tension in the neck, shoulders, or jaw. In this case acupuncture, gua sha or cupping can be used to unbind muscle adhesions and tightness, often relieving the pain.
