Tag: acupuncture and migraine
HRV Stress Levels in Migraine:Sa.Be edition
This data is from a patient we’ve discussed before. She was a profound responder with almost immediate resolution of her headaches with acupuncture. This is her summarized Sympathetic Activity or Flight/Fight activity during acupuncture minutes 6 to 12. This prolonged decrease in sympathetic activity over time is one of the things I find so compelling…
Read MoreNon-Invasive Neuromodulation for Headache Disorders.
Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2016 Feb;16(2):11. doi: 10.1007/s11910-015-0620-7. Non-Invasive Neuromodulation for Headache Disorders. Zhu S1, Marmura MJ2. Author information Abstract Migraine and other chronic headache disorders are common and if inadequately treated, can lead to significant disability. The effectiveness of medications can be limited by side effects, drug interactions, and comorbid diseases necessitating alternative methods….
Read MoreMigraine Pathophysiology: Video from Association of Migraine Disorders
A bit long, but informative video on the nitty gritty of migraine cause.
Read MoreAbstract for NANS meeting. TAVNS and Autonomic Balance in the Acupuncture Clinic: Clinical Case Study
This is my abstract for the upcoming NANS conference in NYC. It was accepted! So to NYC for me in August. Introduction: Improving autonomic balance (increasing parasympathetic activity and decreasing sympathetic activity)leads to better immunity, pain tolerance, mood, longevity and inflammation. Both Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation (TAVNS)[i] and acupuncture[ii] [iii] [iv]have been shown to…
Read MoreAcupuncture modulates the abnormal brainstem activity in migraine without aura patients.
A sizable portion of my practice is devoted to migraine patients, finding best treatments and researching their physiological response. This paper looks at the role of abnormal brainstem activity in migraine patients without aura and how acupuncture affects it. As with most Chinese studies we can only partly draw conclusions since they treated 5 x…
Read MoreAcupuncture, Stress Levels and Chronic Intractable Migraine: Af.Es. editioin
This data is from a relatively new patient who has severe, chronic migraine. He is on multiple medications. He takes daily medications, anti-anxiety medications, and tryptans for attacks. The first priority is to try to stabilize his system with acupuncture and avoiding tryptans whenever possible. He is unable to work, so the disability he is…
Read MoreAcupuncture, Stress Levels (HRV), and Vestibular Migraine: El.Di. edition
This is another story from the clinic with data. This is patient who has dizziness with headache, high blood pressure, and anxiety. All of these conditions seem linked. He carries a diagnosis of Vestibular Migraine, but it’s hard to know if his is an actual migraine type condition or something else. Migraine patients have certain…
Read MoreTaVNS and HRV: Clinical Studies El.Ma. Edition
One more chapter in the TAVNS story. We have discussed this patient before, here and here. This is a young woman, migraineur, who has had dramatic and almost complete remission of her migraines. She has had one or two “break through” headaches during her menstrual cycles, but for the most part is headache free and…
Read MoreTaVNS and HRV: Case Study Pa.Co. edition
As another chapter in the story of TAVNS (Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation) in the clinic, this patient seems to have the opposite effect from the previous patient. Obviously, there is a lot of “noise” in the system, but he seems to have lower stress levels during treatment when TaVNS is added. I have yet…
Read MoreMigraines, Neuromodulation, Acupuncture and HRV:Clinical Study El.Ma.
This is another example of a migraine patient showing marked parasympathetic increase, sympathetic decrease with TaVNS or transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation in conjunction with acupuncture. I realize that the data sets are still sparse, but interesting nonetheless. This patient had quick diminution of her migraines after starting acupuncture over 1 year ago and now…
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