Anyone who experiences migraines knows the misery they can cause. A migraine is more than annoying. It can be debilitating.
It’s bad enough to have it feel like someone is pounding one side of your head. This is even worse when you also feel nauseous, get sick and/or become extremely sensitive to light and sound.
Root Causes of Migraines
The root cause of a migraine can be difficult to pin down. This is because it often differs from person to person. However, there can be certain triggers such as:
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Hormonal changes
- Birth control medications
- Depression and anxiety
- Lack of sleep
- Poor posture
- Jet lag
- Low blood sugar
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
Does Dry Needling Help Migraines?
Popping pain killers is the most common way to treat a migraine. And they can help reduce the pain. But they are more of a quick remedy. And one that doesn’t work for everyone.
That drives people to seek alternative treatments. One treatment that has become more populr is dry needling. This treatment may be a great alternative for helping to get rid of chronic and acute pain.
Dry needling has been proven to be effective when it comes to releasing muscle tension and pain. It’s also a good remedy for headaches.
And yes, dry needling does help with migraines. In fact, some believe it is an excellent option when it comes to relieving migraine.
What Is Dry Needling?
What is dry needling exactly? Well, it involves inserting long filament needles deep into trigger points in the body.
Now you may think this sounds a lot like acupuncture. While there are similarities between them, they are two different procedures.
Dry needling can help alleviate the tension from knotted muscles, the temples and other body parts.
As scary as it may sound, dry needling doesn’t cause pain or discomfort most of the time. Although the sensation does differ from person to person. Some people may feel muscle soreness after the treatment (but not during).
And many people say it feels similar to getting a deep-tissue massage.
The relief from dry needling treatment works differently for each person too. There are instances where patients can experience immediate migraine relief. While others say it takes 24-48 hours for the treatment to take effect.
It is also not a one-time solution to migraines. Usually, doctors recommend using dry needling as maintenance for long-lasting results.
Especially if you’ve are not having luck with other migraine treatments, it is worth looking into dry needling. It may be just the cure for your migraines you’ve been searching for!
Guide to Migraines
This article is part of our Guide to Migraine Treatments and Causes.
Check out the next topic in this series: Does Osteopathy Work for Migraines?