Headache and Migraine
Conditions
Headache and Migraine
Headaches are pain or discomfort in the head or face area and can be caused by stress, tension, sinus issues, or other factors. Migraines are a type of headache characterized by severe pain, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.
Holistic Explanation and Treatment: Headaches and migraines can be related to imbalances in the liver and gallbladder meridians according to TCM, or blockages in the third eye chakra, which is associated with intuition and perception. Holistic treatments include acupuncture, herbal remedies to detoxify the liver, craniosacral therapy, and practices like meditation and yoga to alleviate stress and tension.
Standard Medical Approach:
- Diagnosis: Clinical evaluation, neurological exams, sometimes imaging tests.
- Treatment: Pain relief with NSAIDs, triptans, anti-nausea medications, and sometimes preventive medications.
Hito Holistic Approach
- Diagnosis: Comprehensive assessment including physical, postural, energetical, emotional, and lifestyle factors.
- Treatment: the head is directly linked to the neck, so the treatment of headaches and migraine always includes the treatment of the neck with focus overall on the misalignment of the cervical spine and the restriction of the scalp and the tension of the neck muscles. Often, we need to include the assessment and treatment of the jaw muscles since a couple of them are directly linked to the headache. A certain posture of the jaws, when the chin is much behind the upper lip, can create a postural imbalance where the head tends to fall forwards and the entire body is leaning forward generating tension along the posterior muscles line (also corresponding to the bladder meridian). Moreover, in ayurvedic medicine the head is linked again to the brow chakra (upper neck, head, sinuses, headaches, migraines, eyes, nose and ears, overthinking, busy mind, ruminating thoughts) and the crown chakra (connection with the higher self and the divine). In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the head is associated with various meridians like the gallbladder (overthinking with frustration) which covers each side of the skull and the bladder (water circulation, body hydration, resisting against an authority figure, feeling unsafe to express or powerless). Holistic treatments include myofascial release to reset the muscle tension in the neck and scalp or even the jaws, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture to balance the meridians, chakra healing to rebalance the chakras, eventually clinic massage, specific stretches, strength and postural exercises, Pilates and yoga poses, mindfulness practices like meditation, breathwork and journaling to reduce stress and improve oxygenation.
Insurance
