Acupuncture for Headaches

 By Michael Kowalski, A.P., Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM)
@ Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center
Jacksonville, FL

At the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center in Jacksonville, Florida we specialize in the treatment of headaches of all types, including migraine headaches, tension-type headaches, sinus headaches, cluster headaches, and rebound headaches. Drs. Michael Kowalski A.P. and Tracy Kozak A.P. have a combined 46 years of experience in treating headaches successfully with acupuncture and holistic medicine.

A National Problem

If you suffer from headaches, you are not alone. Headaches are a common problem in our country. Nearly 22% of women and over 10% of men in the U.S. suffer with migraines or other severe types of headaches. Many people have to miss work days or reduce their work level due to various types of headaches. A large NIH (National Institutes of Health) study found that nearly 10% of workers surveyed reported that their work level was reduced by more than half due to headaches during work, and another 31% answered that their work level was reduced “more than rarely” by headaches.

Help Is Here

The good news is that acupuncture works very well in the treatment of migraines, chronic and acute headaches. In a 2012 research study, the NIH found that, “Acupuncture is an effective and valuable option for patients suffering from migraine or frequent tension-type headache (TTH). Moreover, acupuncture seems to be a cost-effective treatment.” We at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center have found that, in addition to the migraine and tension-type headaches included in the NIH study, acupuncture is also an effective and valuable option in the treatment of other types of headaches, including sinus, cluster and rebound headaches.

Patients often come into our office with an acute headache and leave with it significantly reduced or completely gone. Moreover, the vast majority of chronic headache sufferers of all types report a significant reduction in both the frequency and the severity of their headaches after a course of just 10 acupuncture treatments. After the initial course of 10 treatments, patients usually no longer need weekly treatment. The reason our acupuncture treatment protocol is so effective is that we combine Worsley 5 Element Acupuncture to rebalance and relax you as a whole with special acupuncture points for headaches. This specialized approach encourages the treatment benefits to “hold” longer and longer, making the effects cumulative. Typically, we gradually spread out the treatment frequency as progress is made, until our patients are on a maintenance schedule – just once every month or two.

Diet and Stress Counts

We seek not only to relieve acute headaches, but to diagnose and treat the root cause of chronic headaches. In addition to using acupuncture treatment to treat the underlying cause, we search for any headache triggers. What you eat and drink can be a trigger for headaches, so learning your food triggers is an important step in prevention and cure. We consult with you about your diet, and often use a food allergy blood test that measures sensitivity to over 90 common foods to get a thorough picture of your food triggers.

Chronic stress is a common trigger for many kinds of headaches. We take time to understand what stresses you out and how it relates to your headaches, as well as counsel you on how best to manage your stress.

Could Your Headaches Be Undiagnosed Migraines?

In the groundbreaking book Heal Your Headache by Dr. David Buchholz M.D., a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, about half of all migraine sufferers either go undiagnosed, or are incorrectly diagnosed with some type of headache other than migraine. This book not only clearly defines how to differentiate the various symptoms of migraine, but also lays out a 3-step program to heal from migraine headaches. We recommend this book for all severe headache sufferers, and you may find a good review of it published in the Journal of the National Medical Association HERE.

For our migraine and severe headache patients, we have found that the combination of our acupuncture treatment protocol coupled with removing the headache triggers is the most effective remedy available for migraines and severe headaches.

If you or someone you know suffers from chronic headaches or migraines, we recommend you or they call us at 904-296-9545 for a consultation and to begin treatment for a better quality of life.