More than thirty years ago when I studied in University, I remember one of my teachers told us that when you have a case of headaches, especially those who suffer from them frequently; the first thing you should think is not how to stop the pain, but help the patient in finding the cause of the pain.

Headaches are a very common issue in our clinic. It can occur at any age, some may last only a short while and others are long lasting and frequent. In this article, I would like to share with you how to find the cause of the headache/migraine. I hope my experience of treating this issue will help you to understand why you are having headaches.

1. Causes

i) Due to blood stagnation (Are you this type of headache?)

Chinese medicine considers that any injury occurring around the upper part of the body (such as neck, head, upper back, shoulder, arm injury) a long time ago or recently will affect the circulation around this area. This will affect the circulation by disrupting flow and causing blood stagnation. If the blood stasis is not cleared quickly it will cause poor circulation around the region where to injury occurred especially around the neck and shoulder region. This will effect the blood flow to the head, causing headaches.

This type of headache has the following characteristics; headache is usually in the same place, the pain is sharp and stabbing pain, the pain usually lasts longer and maybe more severe in the evening or start from early morning when you wake up, for women the pain may become more severe before or during menstruation, some may also have neck or shoulder pain/discomfort before the headache. In the clinic we find that these people have the following observations:  the tongue is dark and bruised; the pulse is not smooth.

Our suggestion

a) If you have the type of headache which is mentioned above, you should also treat the region of your new or old injury whilst you are undergoing treatment for your headaches. This is important as the injury is the cause of the headache.

b) You should do certain activities to improve your circulation (especially in the region of your injury) such as; exercise, keeping your body warm, avoid drinking frozen/cold water (especially in the cold season) you can drink warm or room temperature water instead, you can eat food which have warm characteristics (Please see my articles on diet therapy for suggestions). These activities are beneficial for improving circulation and preventing blood stasis.

ii) Weakness in the body (Are you this type of headache?)

Chinese medicine considers headaches to be also caused from weakness in the body. This can occur after a long illness, child labour, operation, internal organ weakness (such as kidney weakness). All of these can cause the Qi and blood or ying and yang to be deficient resulting in sluggish blood flow (poor circulation). From the lack of blood flow it will cause pain in the head.

This type of headache has the following characteristics; the pain is a dull aching and last for a long time, the ache comes and goes and becomes more severe after doing activities or if you are tired, the pain will usually disappear after resting. The body will also experience the following symptoms such as dizziness, lethargy, short of breath, pallor, women menstruation may be scanty, headache may occur after the period. Some of the cases may be associated with iron deficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome, under-reactive thyroid, chronic internal organ disease. In the clinic, we often find that patients usually have a deep and thready pulse; the tongue is on the pale side.

Our suggestion

a) You should avoid overdoing it. You should try have enough rest and sleep. Avoid doing strong exercise until your body is stronger. For women who are menstruating, you should avoid doing exercise at this time.

b) You should eat a certain amount of nutritious foods which will help to increase your blood, Qi and energy. Foods you can eat are; chinese red dates, goji berries, beef/chicken bone soup, eggs (for more suggestions please see my articles on diet therapy).

c) I suggest that you should balance and tonify your body whilst you are treating your headache. As deficiency in the body is the cause of your headaches.

iii) Liver and gallbladder disorder (Are you this type of headache?)

I find through my experience in our clinic that this type of headache in very common. Chinese medicine considers that liver and gallbladder disorders can cause the blood vessels and surrounding muscles to constrict and to be tight. This will affect the Qi and blood circulation in the body, especially in the neck and head region. Due to this, the Qi and blood may become stagnant in this region causing headaches.

Liver and gallbladder disorders are often caused by stressful and busy lifestyles, and emotional impacts.

This type of headache has the following characteristics; The headache occurs more so on the side or top of the head, when the headache becomes severe eye pain is associated (as the liver and gallbladder channels dominate these areas) .The body may also experience the following symptoms; body is very stressed, easy to get anxious or depressed, neck and shoulder often feels tight or painful, insomnia or vivid dreams, sluggish bowel movement, abdomen bloating. For women the breasts may be painful or full before the period, PMS, headache is more severe before or during the period.

For this type of headache the body quite often has the following disease; high blood pressure, diabetes, hyper-reactive thyroid, irritable bowel syndrome, depression.

Our suggestion

a) You should reduce your stress and emotional situations from your lifestyle or job. This can cause you to have a liver or gallbladder disorder.

b) Do regular relaxing exercises, especially in the outdoors. Such as walking, swimming, tai chi, yoga, light/slow jogging.

c) Listening to soft music will help.

d) Balance and strengthen your liver and gallbladder while you are undergoing treatment. It is important to do this as the liver and gallbladder are the cause of your headache.

e) Eat certain foods which are beneficial for the liver and gallbladder; such as celery, carrots, oranges, bananas, green tea, peppermint tea ( for more suggestions please see my articles on diet therapy).

iv) Other causes of headaches

The following body disorders can cause headaches such as; sinusitis, hay fever, cold and flu, fever, lack of sleep, poor vision and more.

2. How to help you find the cause of your headache?

i) When you visit our clinic for help, we will use traditional diagnosis methods to check your body and find the cause of the headache. This method includes pulse and tongue diagnosis, you body general condition and current symptoms.

ii) We will tell you exactly the cause of your headache after using this diagnosis method. We will choose suitable treatment for your individual case such as herbal medication or acupuncture or cupping or scrubbing or Chinese massage.

I hope that the explanations I have given you will help you have a happy and painless life.