Headaches can be simply annoying, or they can be debilitating. They can go from one headache to another, like a merry-go-round, or they can come “occasionally”. In conventional medicine, there are only 5 types of headaches: tension headaches, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, sinus headaches and rebound headaches (caused by using the medications to stop the headache). The treatment for all of them is drugs and/or rest.
Doctors who practice more natural methods of healing, choosing to address the underlying factors instead, see more like about 20-30 types of headache. In Traditional Chinese Medicine alone there are 10 or more depending on how it is categorized. Chiropractors have their set of causes, physical therapists and other “alternative medicine” practitioners have their views.
Some examples of other causes of headache include dehydration, muscle tightness, spinal misalignment (cervical spine generally), blood “stagnation” due to trauma, Qi deficiency due to mental or physical overwork, blood deficiency (traumatic loss of blood, anemia, or following long term illness), excess wind (cold wind, hot wind and wind with moisture produce different symptoms), dampness in general, and weaknesses or excesses of several organ systems such as the liver or kidneys. These all have different sensations in the head.
In addition, headaches can be caused by other environmental factors, hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, blood sugar aberrations, blood pressure problems, sinus issues, exposure to toxins, medication side effects and as a part of their general medical condition.
Add to the list the many, many triggers, such as environmental, food, stress, physical activities, etc., and it can become quite complex.
Within some of these categories are sub-categories, or combinations of factors. The liver, for instance has so many functions that it is said that it is responsible for nearly every metabolic function in the body either directly or immediately indirectly. It is also said that most headaches have a liver component. More times than not, headaches have multiple etiologies and multiple triggers.
Proper treatment is essential if you want to get rid of the headaches for more than just awhile. Finding a good diagnostician that looks at all of the possibilities is essential. Although medications can work for the moment, and they can truly be a blessing, they can also set you up to have more headaches. You can get off the headache merry-go-round by looking a little deeper into causative factors, and addressing them wholistically.
©2015 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
