Acupuncture & Migraines

Ithaca Times

In the realm of unavoidable misery, it’s death, taxes and - if you’ve worked a day in your life you know this - headaches.
According to the American Headache Society a person in the United States goes to the emergency room with a headache or migraine at a pace that averages out to every 10 seconds. And each year in the United States, more than $1 billion is spent on over-the-counter medication by people seeking relief from a headache or migraine.
The most debilitating form of headache, the migraine, can be triggered by a number of different factors including stress, diet, bright lights, excessive noise or altering the sleep-wake cycle, according to the National Headache Foundation, which estimates that more than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraines, with women three times more likely to be affected than men. Less than half of all migraine sufferers have been diagnosed with migraines according to the Foundation. In addition to migraines, headaches can also be associated with tension, medications, surgery and pregnancy.
Although most headache sufferers turn to the medicine cabinet to alleviate their pain, there might be a way to achieve permanent relief from chronic or migraine headaches. Some doctors have begun to recommend acupuncture or massage as a more effective pain management strategy for their patients.
Sharon Madison, co-owner of Invigorations Therapeutic Massage Wellness Center in Cortland, said acupuncture and certain types of massage can work well for headache sufferers depending on the cause. “When it’s muscle tension, massage can help a lot. The stretching of the muscles and the back helps,” Madison said.
Invigorations has been in Cortland for more than nine years. Madison said the business has treated many clients with migraines and other chronic headaches. “Acupuncture is great,” she said,” because it cleanses the whole system.”
Madison said the typical patient needs approximately three acupuncture treatments to notice lasting effects. Although acupuncture and massage are not usually covered by most insurance plans, she noted that people with flex payment health plans can usually have their treatments covered.
Vladimir Bobkoff, who works as a licensed acupuncturist with Invigorations in addition to operating a practice in Ithaca, has been practicing Japanese acupuncture for 27 years. Acupuncture is over 5,000 years old and was originally developed by the Chinese. According the Bobkoff, the difference between Japanese and Chinese acupuncture is the technology used in each practice. In addition to using different needles, the Japanese method does not use electric stimulation, whereas this is common in the Chinese practice.
“The Japanese don’t think that’s (electric stimulation) natural,” Bobkoff said.
An acupuncturist’s approach to treating headache and migraine pain does not focus on the head itself. “Migraine problems usually come from liver or gall bladder problem,” Bobkoff said. “Every organ has a passway of energy, and putting a needle there can change energy. It can make it more stable or increase it.”
Bobkoff said that acupuncturists believe headaches are “a stagnation of energy in the body.”
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Jeanie Marie Kraft, L.Ac. MyAcuDoc.com

Body & Soul Massage & Wellness Center of Salem, MA is now offering acupuncture!
Body & Soul Massage & Wellness Center