Healing Headaches Holistically

The onset of a headache is nuisance and can cause productivity to temporarily stop until it subsides but how do you differentiate between a headache and a migraine? Though both a headache and a migraine have some similarities, there are a few distinct characteristics of a headache that sets it apart from a migraine.

A migraine headache is caused by an enlargement of blood vessels that creates a series of chemicals to be released and attack arteries in the brain. Once the chemicals have been released to wreak their havoc, the enlarging of the arteries begins to send painful symptoms that only magnifies until the arteries have stopped expanding or migraine relief has been found. Many attest to ease migraine pain is often attempted however very few find relief from their reoccurring migraines.

What Most Try

Prescription medication should be one of the last treatments tried in helping relieve migraine headaches; however, until recent years, migraine sufferers had very few options in relieving their migraine pain. New prescription medication called triptans is now available on the market and is geared toward relieving migraine pressure.

Because of triptans unique ability to attach to the serotonin receptors on the blood vessels and the surrounding nerves, they can help reduce and in some cases completely stop migraine headaches from occurring. We mentioned several triptans and you might be feeling somewhat overwhelmed and unsure as to which one is worth speaking to your doctor about. The most commonly used triptan and the one with the longest use history would be Sumatriptan. Sumatriptan can be taken orally, by injection or through inhalation. Doctors will not go around prescribing triptans for everyone complaining that they suffer from migraines. Triptans are typically only prescribed to migraine sufferers that experience moderate to severe migraine pain and even then other forms of migraine treatment will be discussed and ruled out before a doctor will recommend or suggest a triptan.

The Problem With Triptans

The role Triptans play in releasing migraine pain is due to the affect triptans have on the restriction of blood vessels or the narrowing of them to prevent them from enlarging and creating migraine pain. Though narrowing is part of their job, it can also have a reverse effect by not only narrowing the arteries in the head but also create a narrowing of the arteries in the heart. This becomes increasingly dangerous for those individuals that have already experienced some form of coronary narrowing. The narrowing caused by the triptans could lead to further narrowing resulting in a heart attack or stroke.

Here Are Holistic Methods

Finding a natural way to treat migraine headaches is a safer and healthier alternative than prescription medication. Prescription medication can be addictive and have a negative physiological effect on other parts of the body that could ultimately shorten one’s life expectancy. Treating migraine through holistic means such as acupuncture and massage therapy are only two holistic methods that migraine sufferers can take advantage of.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture as a therapy originated as traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patents of energy that flow through the body are and essential to total body health. Acupuncture uses stimulation of specific acu-points on the skin by inserting needles that range in length from 1 cm to 10 cm. A typical treatment involves th e use of 5 to 15 needles and the generally the acu-points vary during each treatment session.

Massage Therapy

The two main symptoms that are presented by the condition of reoccurring migraines are fatigue and pain. Massage therapy can aid in lessening both of these symptoms by helping the migraine suffer to be able to experience less pain, obtain more sleep, and also to help relax some of the tightened and stiff muscles that can contribute too much of the pain. Research has proven that the use of massage therapy as a form of migraine treatment can help migraine sufferers experience deeper levels of sleep and lessen levels of pain and fatigue. The way that massage therapy accomplishes this is by using the different forms of massage to help oxygenate the body as a whole which can decrease the severity of symptoms that a migraine sufferer will experience. Massage therapy can help migraine sufferers find relief from their symptoms specifically by:

1. Improving Sleep
2. Decreasing Anxiety & Stress
3. Increasing Blood Circulation

Tags: Acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, chiropractic care, herbal supplements, home remedies, Massage Therapy, Migraine Support Formula, natural migraine treatment