It seems unusual today to find someone who does not have headaches. Many consider them “normal headaches”. What is a “normal headache”? In my book, there is no such thing. Common, yes. Normal, no. As with many things today, we are confusing the “norm” with “normal”. For example, we hear, “it is “normal” to have morning sickness, or heartburn after spicy foods, hot flashes with menopause or PMS during “that time of month”. While common, and the “norm” any more, they are all indicators that something is not working “normally”, or healthfully.
Headaches are no different. They are a red flag that something may be out of sync. It is our job to find out what.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) headaches are evaluated using several parameters. For instance, a headache that originates at the temples has a different etiology than one that originates at the back of the neck, the top of the head, the forehead, the sides, or around the eyes.
Is the headache stabbing in nature, dull, burning, heavy, light or vise-like? Does it come and go, flit around, or is it constant? What are the associated symptoms? The whole body, with all of its symptoms, are brought into the picture to ascertain the underlying mechanism of the headache. While it’s common to consider if there is light sensitivity, visual distortion, nausea, vomiting or tingling, TCM goes even deeper.
How is their sleep, bowel movements, digestion, liver and kidney function, emotional trends, lifestyle habits, joint mobility, blood quality, pain anywhere, appetite, overall constitution (i.e. thin, weak, strong, overweight, etc.), and even the quality of the voice, posture and handshake? TCM includes the environment that makes it better or worse: cold versus hot days, windy or humid days; over-activity versus inactivity.
What is the character of the pulse? Not just how fast or slow it is, or weak versus strong, but there are about 30 other characteristics regarded. How does the tongue look? The tongue is a great window into the quality of health.
With TCM it isn’t just a matter of giving a drug to reduce or eliminate the symptom, but why is it there in the first place? Looking at the body as a whole picture gives a better view of what’s wrong. It’s like a picture puzzle. Each symptom is a piece of that puzzle, even if, on the surface, there seems to be no relationship to the headache, it still gives valuable information as to the causative factor. Then the picture is treated, not the puzzle piece. Treating a symptom is relatively easy. Treating the picture not only handles the symptom, but other seemingly unrelated symptoms go away along with it.
So while there is no such thing as a “normal” headache, there also is no such thing as all headaches being the same. But there are ample options to get rid of headaches for good!
© 2013 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D
