Easing Migraines with Acupuncture and Everyday Care
How Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Can Help Your Migraines — and What You Can Do at Home
If you’ve ever dealt with migraines, you know they’re more than “just a headache.” The pounding pain, nausea, light sensitivity, and sometimes hours (or days) spent hiding in a dark room can turn your whole life sideways.
The good news? Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have been working with migraines for thousands of years — and not just by chasing pain away, but by treating the root imbalances that make migraines keep coming back.
A different way of seeing migraines
In Chinese medicine, migraines aren’t just a problem in the head. They’re usually seen as a sign that something deeper is out of balance — like energy getting stuck (what we call qi stagnation), too much internal heat rising to the head, or a lack of healthy blood flow nourishing the brain.
Emotions, stress, digestive issues, and hormonal shifts can all play a role. That’s why during acupuncture, I’ll look beyond your head and consider your whole system: sleep, digestion, stress levels, even how your cycle is going if you menstruate.
How acupuncture helps
Acupuncture can dial down the pain in the moment by calming the nervous system, increasing circulation, and helping release muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, and jaw.
But even better, over time it can reduce how often you get migraines, how intense they are, and how long they last — by treating those deeper patterns. I often pair acupuncture with things like gentle cupping, gua sha, craniosacral work, or herbal formulas to support circulation and calm what’s called “Liver wind” (TCM’s way of describing that rising, swirling, stuck energy behind many headaches).
Tips for migraine care at home
While acupuncture and herbs do the heavy lifting, here are some small things you can do at home to support your body between visits:
Keep a migraine journal.
Note foods, stress, sleep changes, or hormonal shifts to help spot patterns.Warm your feet, cool your head.
In TCM, migraines often involve excess heat rising. A warm foot soak with Epsom salts can help draw energy downward, while a cool compress on your forehead or back of your neck can bring relief.Stretch your neck and shoulders.
Try gentle rolls, cat-cow stretches, or side neck stretches. This helps keep qi and blood flowing smoothly.Manage screen time.
Blue light and constant focus strain the eyes and head. Try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.Mind your meals.
Skipping meals can trigger migraines. Eat regularly, and favor warm, cooked foods over lots of cold or raw (which can tax digestion and stir up imbalances).Try acupressure.
Massage the web between your thumb and index finger (LI-4), or the points at the base of your skull where it meets your neck (GB-20). Breathe slowly while pressing.
My approach
I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all treatments — especially for something as personal as migraines. I’ll take the time to really understand what’s going on in your body (and your life), then create a plan that might include acupuncture, gentle trigger point work, cupping, gua sha, craniosacral therapy, Chinese herbs, and simple lifestyle shifts. The goal isn’t just fewer headaches, but a system that’s more balanced, resilient, and able to handle the ups and downs of daily life.
You don’t have to live at the mercy of your migraines
If headaches have been running the show, know there are ways to ease them beyond just waiting in the dark for them to pass. With acupuncture, herbs, and some gentle shifts at home, your body can learn to stay more balanced — so migraines show up less often, and with less force when they do.