Headache / Migraine

There are several different types of headache:

  • Migraine:  It felt as a throbbing pain at the front or on one side of the head.  Symptoms include nausea, fever, aching and sensitivity to light. Some people suffer attacks several times a week.  Western medicine eases the symptoms but does not cure migraines.
  • Tension Headache:  This is the most common type of headache. Mild to moderately painful, it is felt on both sides of the head. A tension headache can last up to several hours and occur one or more times a week.
  • Cluster Headache:  excruciatingly painful,  it can last between 15 minutes and 3 hours.   It is usual to get one to three cluster headaches every day for several weeks or months before the attacks subside.
  • Post-Traumatic Headache:  resulting from head or neck injury, this pain can be dull, aching, stabbing, or excruciating. An attack can last from 20 minutes to all day, and can occur in clusters or be continuous.
  • Disease-Related Headache:  Its causes include: allergies, nerve pain, disorders of the head, neck, ear, nose, throat and mouth, brain tumour and  high blood pressure.


TCM has successfully treated all types of headache, including migraine, for thousand years.  Although it can be identified as many different types of headache, the root cause is always depletion of Qi (vital energy).

In order to treat your headache, our TCM Practitioner will diagnose the underlying cause by checking:

  • Your medical and possibly family history
  • The location of your headache
  • The nature of your pain and time of day it occurs
  • Examining your tongue
  • Taking your wrist pulse

Treating your Headache / Migraine

Your treatment will involve a combination of: acupuncture, Chinese herbs, tuina massage and advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle.

Acupuncture offers powerful relief from headaches and migraine.  Herbal therapy will be personalised to treat your particular condition.  Tuina massage may also be recommended and you will receive advices on diet, exercise and lifestyle.

Typically the patient is treated once or twice a week.  Some symptoms may be relieved quicker after the first treatment.   More severe or chronic headaches and migraines often require further follow-up treatments.