Most types of headaches an acupuncturist encounter are tension headaches, migraines, or a combination of both.

Acupuncture Saratoga Springs is the practice of puncturing very thin needles into specific areas on the body.  The needles are “tweaked” or manipulated as they are inserted into the skin to get the desired result and the desired result is in their enhancement of circulation of blood in the affected areas.  The needles cause the veins, arteries and capillaries to dilate resulting in an improvement in circulation in areas undernourished due to poor blood flow.  This is vital for the removal of chronic pain and migraine distress.

Nevertheless, as migraine usually occurs in the increased flow of blood in the head, then the application of needles in the head and cervical area is not desirable in this case and may even worsen the patient’s condition. Instead of enhancing blood flow during episodes of migraine, minimizing them by decreasing the needles applied to the areas that improve blood flow is the right strategy to implement.  Furthermore, in order not to let the blood rush into the head and minimizing the chance of vessel dilation in the head during acupuncture, the patient should be seated instead of lying. A 100 Hz impulse to the body through the acupuncture needles also helps tighten the veins.

Emotional stress is the most common cause of migraine not to mention also causing heart problems, sleeplessness, hypertension and premenstrual problems.

One special technique to balance and normalize the nervous system is called the SES technique and it is about the application of the needles just reaching the dermis, while manually stimulating the needle into place and as the patient exhales and in a sitting position. SES energizes the parasympathetic nervous system whilst lessening muscle tension.  Needle sites are usually on the arms and legs for this treatment technique.

In females, migraine can sometimes flare up due to an imbalance of their hormones.   For this type of problem, moxibustion, the technique of burning moxa plant on the surface of the patient’s skin on the lower abdomen, low back, and sacral bone can regulate the female hormones.

Strong muscle tension in the neck and upper back is a common manifestation of people suffering from migraines.  For this problem, applying acupuncture needles to points on the sensitive areas of the patient’s body to elicit an immediate increase in blood flow to those tight muscles is preferable while a low frequency electrical current of 1 Hz attached to the needles also enhances blood flow in the muscle tissue.

These techniques relieve the intensity of migraine pain and they enable the patient to enjoy relatively long periods of migraine free lives, sometimes even lasting years for many patients.