How To End Your Headaches & Migraines With Chinese Medicine

Headaches and migraines are more than just pain — they can interfere with work, family life, and overall wellbeing.

People often turn to acupuncture and Chinese medicine when:

• Painkillers don’t give enough relief

• Side effects from medication are a concern

• They want a more natural approach to lasting results

Research supports this choice. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce the frequency and intensity of both migraines and tension-type headaches, with benefits that can continue even after treatment ends.

In this article, we’ll focus on the two most common types — tension headaches and migraines — and explain how Chinese medicine understands them, what the research shows, and what you can expect from a treatment plan.

🟪 What type of headache is this?

The two most common types of headaches people seek treatment for are:

• Tension headaches – the most frequent form. They usually feel like a dull, steady pressure or a tight band around the head. Often linked with stress, fatigue, rigid posture, or long hours at a desk, they may also come with tightness in the neck and shoulders.

• Migraines – less common, but often much more disruptive. Migraines are typically one-sided, throbbing or pulsating, and can last anywhere from a few hours to several days. They often come with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound. Some people also experience an “aura” (visual disturbance, or tingling sensations) before the headache begins.

Other types of headaches — such as cluster headaches, sinus headaches, or headaches that start in the neck — exist, but this article will focus on tension headaches and migraines because they are both very common and respond well to acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

🚨 When to seek medical advice

Most headaches aren’t dangerous. But it’s important to see a doctor urgently if you experience:

• A sudden, severe headache (sometimes described as the “worst ever”)

• Headache after a head injury

• Headaches that steadily get worse over time

• A Headache that wakes you from sleep

• Headaches with vision loss, weakness, slurred speech, or fever

🟪 Location matters — the channel model

Long before MRI scans and neurology textbooks, Chinese physicians paid close attention to where head pain occurred. They grouped headache patterns according to the channels that run through different regions of the skull. This channel-based model aligns closely with what modern anatomy shows us about the sensory distribution of cranial and cervical nerves.

• Tai Yang (Greater Yang) → Pain at the back of the head and upper neck, and sometimes into the eyes, forehead, and frontal sinuses. These regions correspond to the greater occipital nerves (from the cervical spine) and the ophthalmic branch (V1) of the trigeminal nerve.

• Shao Yang (Lesser Yang) → Pain at the temples, side of the head, or around the ears. This area matches the lesser occipital nerves, greater auricular nerves, and the mandibular branch (V3) of the trigeminal nerve. It helps explain why side-of-head headaches often occur with jaw tension or tinnitus.

• Yang Ming (Bright Yang) → Pain in the forehead, cheeks, teeth, jaw, and sinuses. This reflects the maxillary (V2) and mandibular (V3) branches of the trigeminal nerve, which also account for sinus pressure, facial pain, and dental-related headaches.

The channel model, then, is not metaphysical. It is a practical map of pain location that mirrors the anatomy of the nervous system. When practitioners select acupuncture points along the Tai Yang, Shao Yang, or Yang Ming channels, they are effectively targeting the sensory nerves most involved in the patient’s pain.

🟪 Pathogens and Patterns — what’s driving the headache?

Chinese medicine doesn’t only ask where the pain is, but also why it happens. For this, the ancients used the idea of “pathogens.” These aren’t germs, but shorthand terms for the nature of the problem — whether it came from outside (an external trigger like an environmental cause) or from inside (a long-term imbalance in the body).

Exterior patterns

Exterior patterns explain headaches that strike suddenly, often when someone is otherwise healthy. These headaches can occur from viruses, allergens, or changes to environmental conditions.

Chinese medicine uses words like Wind, Cold, or Heat to describe them. These are technical terms, but you can think of them as analogies:

• Wind – sudden and changeable. A Wind-type headache may come on quickly with fever, sweating, or tingling sensations.

• Cold – tight and constricting. A Cold-type headache often comes with chills, body aches, and pain that eases with warmth.

• Heat – hot and agitated. A Heat-type headache can include fever, sore throat, thirst, or feeling flushed.

In this way, exterior patterns describe not just the pain, but the overall picture — much like saying someone looks “feverish” or “chilled” in everyday language.

Interior patterns

Interior patterns describe headaches that are regular, persistent, or tied to a person’s overall health rather than just an outside trigger. These patterns develop more slowly and often recur.

Some common interior patterns include:

• Liver Yang rising (Wind-type) – Seen in patients with sensitive nervous systems. Stress, poor sleep, or sensory triggers can provoke throbbing, one-sided migraines with dizziness, tingling, or visual disturbance.

• Qi and Blood deficiency (Cold-type) – The head and body aren’t well nourished. Symptoms include dull headache, fatigue, pale complexion, cold extremities, and sometimes low blood pressure or anaemia.

• Blood stasis (Miscellaneous) – Often linked with injury or trauma, such as whiplash or concussion. Produces sharp, stabbing, and fixed headaches, sometimes accompanied by neck stiffness.

• Phlegm (Damp-type) – Common in people who eat or drink alcohol heavily, though it can appear in others who have disorders of the nervous systems. Produces heavy, intense headaches with nausea, dizziness, vomiting, poor sleep, or brain fog.

Interior patterns remind us that not all headaches are alike. Some reflect constitutional vulnerabilities, others the aftermath of injury, and still others lifestyle factors.

🟪 Treatment in Chinese Medicine — matching therapy to the pattern

Just as modern doctors distinguish between tension headaches, migraines, or post-injury headaches, Chinese medicine also tailors treatment — but guided by its own diagnostic patterns. The goal is not only to relieve the pain but also to correct the imbalance that allowed it to arise.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the cornerstone of treatment. From a modern perspective, inserting fine needles at specific points helps regulate the nervous system — releasing endorphins and serotonin, improving blood flow, and calming overactive pain pathways in the trigeminal and cervical nerves.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, the channel model helps identify where the problem is:

• Taiyang channel points → for pain at the back of the head and neck

• Shaoyang channel points → for pain at the temples and sides of the head

• Yangming channel points → for pain in the forehead, cheeks, and sinuses

Historically, points were selected for their observed indications — their ability to influence symptoms in a region — rather than abstract functions. Meridians are best understood as an organising map, while acupuncture points themselves correspond with features of the peripheral nervous system.

Pattern differentiation still matters, but more for how treatment is applied than where:

• An excess-type person, who is strong and robust may tolerate firmer stimulation.

• A deficient-type person, who is sensitive and fatigued may need gentler technique, with awareness of vasovagal tendencies.

This careful matching of location + pattern + method is what allows acupuncture to be both precise and adaptable.

What the research shows

• Tension-type headache (TTH): A 2023 meta-analysis of 14 randomised controlled trials (nearly 2,800 patients) found acupuncture significantly reduced headache frequency. More patients achieved at least a 50% reduction in headache days compared to sham acupuncture or usual care, with benefits often persisting beyond treatment

2023 - Efficacy of acupuncture …

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• Migraines: A 2020 overview of 15 systematic reviews concluded that acupuncture is often effective and safe. Compared with medications, it reduced migraine days, lowered headache intensity, and decreased reliance on painkillers. It was also superior to sham acupuncture in many trials

2020 - Effectiveness and Safety…

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Herbal medicine

Herbal medicine has been part of Chinese practice for centuries, and it is often combined with acupuncture for stronger, longer-lasting results. While acupuncture works by stimulating the nervous system at defined points, herbs are taken internally to support the body’s systems and restore balance from within.

A 2022 overview of systematic reviews found that Chinese herbal medicine (CHM):

• Performed better than placebo in reducing migraine frequency, duration, and pain intensity.

• Showed results comparable to — and in some cases better than — standard medications.

• Worked especially well when combined with conventional medicine

2022 - SR of chinese herbal med…

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In clinical practice, herbs are prescribed based on the patient’s pattern and constitution:

• Phlegm → Sensitivity and nausea - Ban Xia (Pinellia), as in Wen Dan Tang.

• Qi and Blood deficiency → Fatigue and pallor - Dang Gui (Angelica), as in Dang Gui Si Ni Tang.

• Blood stasis → Pain and constipation - Bai Shao (White Peony), as in Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang.

In this way, herbs not only relieve headache symptoms but also support the constitution, reducing the likelihood of relapse once treatment stops.

🟪 Conclusion

Headaches and migraines are complex, and there is no single treatment that works for everyone. Many people find relief with standard medical care, while others look for additional support when pain persists, side effects become a concern, or they prefer a more natural approach.

Chinese medicine offers one such option. By combining the channel model (to target the nerves and regions involved in pain) with the pattern model (to account for a person’s constitution and overall health), practitioners create treatments that are both individualised and holistic.

Research shows that acupuncture can reduce the frequency and severity of both migraines and tension-type headaches, and herbal medicine provides another layer of support for the right patients. These therapies don’t replace conventional care, but they can complement it — offering people more tools to manage their condition and improve their quality of life.