If you’re one of nearly 40 million Americans who live with migraines, the search for lasting relief can feel endless. But what if a natural, holistic approach could finally break that cycle of recurring pain?
Lori Schneider, MD, offers personalized solutions for migraine sufferers at Lakeside Neurology and Wellness Center in Cornelius, North Carolina. Among them, acupuncture stands out as an effective, drug-free way to manage the frequency and severity of attacks.
This ancient Chinese technique offers a unique path forward when other methods fall short. Keep reading to learn about three key ways acupuncture can help you reclaim your life from the migraine cycle.
The throbbing, pulsating pain of a migraine can be debilitating, keeping you from work, family time, and other important parts of your life. While the exact causes behind this complex neurological condition are still under research, we do know that inflammation plays a big role in the pain you feel.
When a migraine strikes, inflammation occurs around the blood vessels on the surface of the brain. This can lead to changes in blood flow as they constrict and dilate, which is what causes that characteristic throb.
Acupuncture directly addresses migraine pain by stimulating specific points on your body with fine, sterile needles. This stimulation calms the body’s inflammatory response and encourages the release of natural pain-relieving chemicals like endorphins, resulting in less severe and more manageable migraines.
Migraine pain can last anywhere from 4-72 hours, but other effects can linger even longer. Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, nausea, or sensitivity to light and sound can hang around for days in what’s known as the postdrome phase.
If you’re tired of enduring days of discomfort before you start to feel like yourself again, acupuncture may be able to reduce the duration of your symptoms. It’s not just about pain relief — by activating certain neurological pathways, it can help your body regain control more quickly, interrupting the attack’s progression.
Over time, consistent acupuncture treatments may work to calm an overactive nervous system. This makes your system less reactive to common triggers and everyday stressors, potentially reducing the frequency of your migraines.
In some cases, deeper, underlying imbalances within your body may trigger migraines. Common culprits include chronic stress, hormonal fluctuations, and sleep disorders like insomnia.
By regulating your nervous and endocrine systems, acupuncture can promote a more harmonious state within your body. This helps to calm your body’s stress response, balance hormonal activity, and improve sleep quality.
Acupuncture offers more than temporary relief. With regular treatments, it can reduce your susceptibility to migraines, helping to prevent them from occurring in the first place, so you can spend less time worrying about when the next one will strike.
If you’re looking for lasting relief that truly improves your quality of life, contact Lakeside Neurology and Wellness Center online or by phone today to schedule a consultation and learn about our treatment options. Dr. Schneider proudly serves patients from across the Lake Norman area.
