Everything you need to know about migraines

Migraines are severe, recurring, and painful headaches. They can be preceded or accompanied by sensory warning signs and other symptoms.

The extreme pain that migraines cause can last for hours or even days. Migraines can follow an aura of sensory disturbances followed by a severe headache that often appears on one side of the head. They tend to affect people aged 15 to 55 years same as the shoulder joint.

What Can Trigger a Migraine Headache?

It is suspected that they result from abnormal activity in the brain. This can affect the way nerves communicate as well as the chemicals and blood vessels in the brain. Genetics may make someone more sensitive to the triggers that can cause migraines.

However, the following triggers are likely to set off migraines:

1. Hormonal changes:

Women may experience migraine symptoms during menstruation, due to changing hormone levels.

2. Emotional triggers:

Stress, depression, anxiety, excitement, and shock can trigger a migraine.

3. Physical causes:

Tiredness and insufficient sleep, shoulder or neck tension, poor posture, and physical overexertion have all been linked to migraines. Low blood sugar and jet lag can also act as triggers.

4. Triggers in the diet:

Alcohol and caffeine can contribute to triggering migraines. Some specific foods can also have this effect, including chocolate, cheese, citrus fruits, and foods containing the additive tyramine. Irregular mealtimes and dehydration have also been named as potential triggers.

5. Medications:

Some sleeping pills, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medications, and the combined contraceptive pill have all been named as possible triggers.

6. Triggers in the environment:

Flickering screens, strong smells, second-hand smoke, and loud noises can set off a migraine. Stuffy rooms, temperature changes, and bright lights are also possible triggers.

7. Caffeine:

Getting too much or withdrawing from it can cause headaches when the level in your body abruptly drops. Blood vessels seem to get used to caffeine, and when you don’t have any, you may get a headache. Caffeine itself can be a treatment for acute migraine attacks.

How TCM help Migraines:

Acupuncture & Cupping therapy (placing heated cups on the skin to enhance qi and blood circulation) and orthopedic tuina (TCM massage with bone alignment) can help improve your condition by strengthening your organs and dispelling the pathogenic factors.

Chinese medicine for migraine such as Chinese angelica, milkvetch root, white peony root, and Sichuan lovage rhizome increase qi and blood levels.

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