How Chinese Medicine Understands Headache Disorders
With the hectic pace of modern life, many stressful situations are avoidable, an increasing number of people suffer from headaches. Headache is only a symptom, the cause of which is not necessarily in the head, problems in other parts of the body can also contribute to headaches. Since the causes and symptoms of headaches can be so different, headaches should be diagnosed and treated according to individual conditions, in particular for chronic and recurrent types such as migraine, traumatic headache or headache of neurovascular origins. These headaches cannot simply be relieved by pain medications, doctors treat them with a variety of drugs and based on the patterns of headaches, which are the most productive way to cure or alleviate the painful conditions.
Head orifices are the openings
on the head such as the eyes,
ears, nose and mouth. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) regards the head as "the confluence of yang" and "the dwelling of lucid yang," which mean the head is closely connected with other parts of the body, and all the organs are responsible for nourishing it. Moreover, TCM holds that the brain is the sea of marrow, which is derived from kidney essence and nourished by food nutrients. The head connects with the internal organs through the meridians and collaterals; it also has orifices to communicate with the external directly. When external or internal factors impede the flow of meridians, disturb nutrient supply to the head, and block the head orifices, headaches will occur. Since there are many triggers or causes for headaches, the frequency and severity vary considerably between individuals. It may be a challenge to diagnose and treat headaches sometimes. Clinically, TCM physicians rely on specific headache details to analyze the pathological changes inside the body; the information help them find the underlying disharmony patterns and provide guideline for the treatments. Below are TCM views on some headache disorders and the treatment principles.
Head orifices are the openingson the head such as the eyes,
ears, nose and mouth. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) regards the head as "the confluence of yang" and "the dwelling of lucid yang," which mean the head is closely connected with other parts of the body, and all the organs are responsible for nourishing it. Moreover, TCM holds that the brain is the sea of marrow, which is derived from kidney essence and nourished by food nutrients. The head connects with the internal organs through the meridians and collaterals; it also has orifices to communicate with the external directly. When external or internal factors impede the flow of meridians, disturb nutrient supply to the head, and block the head orifices, headaches will occur. Since there are many triggers or causes for headaches, the frequency and severity vary considerably between individuals. It may be a challenge to diagnose and treat headaches sometimes. Clinically, TCM physicians rely on specific headache details to analyze the pathological changes inside the body; the information help them find the underlying disharmony patterns and provide guideline for the treatments. Below are TCM views on some headache disorders and the treatment principles.
