Find Relief from Tension Headaches Through Acupuncture

Tension headaches can really put the kibosh on your daily routine. Looking at a computer screen? Forget it. Cooking dinner? Not going to happen. No food in the fridge? Someone please call take-out.

Tension headaches are the most common headache in the world, and when a headache strikes, sufferers often reach for the ibuprofen or other drugs first to keep the symptoms at bay. But what if you don’t want to take any medications, or those medications aren’t helping? 

A 2012 study in JAMA Internal Medicine, analyzed 29 other randomized controlled trials, which included just under 18,000 patients. The results suggested that acupuncture was superior over both sham (fake) acupuncture or no acupuncture for the treatment of back pain, neck pain and chronic headaches. What this study, and others, suggest is that acupuncture might be a good first option for pain over pharmacological (drug) interventions.

There are a few ways in which it might do this. According to some studies, acupuncture provides its analgesic (pain killing) effects by interacting with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the endogenous (naturally occurring) opioid system. These systems are known to be important mediators of the stress response to pain. Additionally, studies have shown that acupuncture restores the descending pain modulatory system—a network of brain regions whose integrative function is essential for controlling sensory input to the central nervous system and behavioral responses to pain. Last, acupuncture needles interact with the connective tissue to transmit mechanical signals to help change the tension or restrictions in tissue.

Are you a tension type?

What is a tension-type headache and how do you know you have one? Glad you asked. According to Merck Manuals, the global standard in medical reference, a tension-type headache is characterized by mild to moderate pain often described as “viselike”. These headaches often start in the front or the back of the head and spreads on both sides. 

Migraines, on the other hand, generally present on one side of the head and have other symptoms like nausea or sensitivity to light or sound that are not present in tension headaches. 

Also in both migraines and tension-type headaches studies show an increase in muscle stiffness and myofascial trigger points in patients, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Headache and Pain. 

Can acupuncture help?

I see many patients with headaches come through the door, but most commonly I see tension-type headaches accompanied by trigger points in muscles of the head and neck. By addressing these muscles within our holistic treatment plan that also down-regulated the nervous system and balances hormones in the body, acupuncture can help relax bound-up muscles, smooth blood flow and ease pain. 

Think this sounds like your type of headache? Check out what muscles cause these issues and find your picture of pain in our Muscles of Tension Headaches post.