Headaches & TMJD

Headaches and Migraines

If you are someone who suffers from headaches or migraines, you understand how seriously they can impact your quality of life. When a headache strikes, finding treatments that bring relief becomes a top priority, however, for most pain-relieving medications or the prescribed preventative drugs do not provide relief, are not well tolerated, or produce unwanted side effects. Acupuncture can help!

Treatment Detail

Acupuncture is an effective treatment for many kinds of headaches and migraines. Headaches can be caused by tension, hormonal changes, environmental, dietary, or emotional triggers, and some may not know what causes them. Acupuncture is able to address many of the common triggers by increasing the circulation of blood flow, releasing neurotransmitters and hormones, blocking pain signals, reducing stress, and relaxing tight muscles, to reduce the frequency and severity, and treat the root cause of your headaches.

Oftentimes migraines are seemingly uncontrollable and random, and acupuncture is able to prevent attacks when other methods of treatment cannot. Patients can come in both during acute episodes or when they are asymptomatic, and can receive treatments in conjunction with other therapies, such as preventative medication.

Treatment Frequency

Acupuncture is a process, not a procedure. We do not know how your body will respond until we try a few sessions. Most people will require a series of at least 10 treatments at a frequency of 1 – 2 times per week to help resolve acute issues. Chronic issues may take longer, often 20 – 30 treatments over the course of 3 – 6 months.

Chinese Medicine can help with the following types of headaches:

Migraines caused by hormonal, environmental, dietary, or emotional triggers
Migraines with unknown etiologies
Episodic or chronic tension headaches

Cluster headaches
Headaches associated with menses
Headaches caused by TMJD
Headaches of unknown etiologies

Jaw Pain and TMJD

For many people experiencing pain and dysfunction in their Temporomandibular joint and the muscles that control jaw movement, a condition commonly called “TMJ”, acupuncture can be one of the most effective drug-free treatments available.

TMJD can be caused by a combination of muscle tension, teeth grinding, anatomical problems, and injury. Sometimes, there may be a psychological component from someone clenching their jaw during a time of increased stress and emotional tension, with most people completely unaware these muscles can remain contracted for long periods of time during the day and night.

Over time TMJ can lead to not only jaw pain when chewing or opening your mouth, but also dizziness, severe headaches, earaches, and neck and shoulder pain.

Treatment Detail

Acupuncture is extremely helpful in relieving the inflammation, pain and muscle tension commonly associated with this condition.

With neurofunctional acupuncture, using electrical stimulation in combination with acupuncture, we can relieve muscle tension and spasms to decrease pain, inflammation, and swelling, releasing the jaw naturally for the joint to move freely. Acupuncture is also great at reducing neck and shoulder muscle tension, and reducing stress.

Treatment Frequency

Acupuncture is a process, not a procedure. We do not know how your body will respond until we try a few sessions. Most people will require a series of at least 10 treatments at a frequency of 1 – 2 times per week to help resolve acute issues. Chronic health issues may take longer, often 20 – 30 treatments over the course of 3 – 6 months.