Jingduan Yang, MD
Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine

Migraine headache is often caused by an energy imbalance called “liver Qi stagnation” in ancient Chinese medicine. It is thought that the Liver energy is affected by the emotion of anger; therefore, unresolved anger can be a contributing factor to migraine headaches. Addressing this emotional component to the problem is often a key component of the treatment process.

Liver stagnation can be associated with heat the stagnation, so it is best to avoid spicy foods that can create heat in the body such as hot peppers. Green colored food is normally thought to be good for liver.

Sandi Amoils, M.D., Physician Acupuncturist
Medical Director, Alliance Institute for Integrative Medicine

Headaches can be debilitating! Using a combination of personalized therapies, our center has had great success treating those with chronic daily headaches or mixed tension/migraine headaches. This often includes regular acupuncture, chiropractic, massage and stress management techniques. The “triptan” class of drugs has helped to revolutionize the treatment of pure migraine headaches. But for those who have tried everything, yet can’t seem to shake a bad headache? In that case, we advise our patients to come to our office for acupuncture and myoneural blocks (injections), which usually eliminate their symptoms within 10 – 15 minutes. In addition, we try to teach patients to use their headaches as a barometer to help gauge internal and external stress. Ultimately, this approach can help clients learn not only to control their headaches, but to achieve a state of balance – often resulting in a profound change in quality of life.