BY: Erica Phillips

Q: I suffer from migraines and I’ve heard that there are alternative treatments aside from pills and prescriptions. A friend mentioned acupuncture as an alternative. Does it work?

A: You are 110 per cent correct. There are alternative treatments aside from prescription pills to treat migraine headaches! But before I discuss the alternative treatment options for migraine headaches, it is important that the correct diagnosis of your headache has been established. Some symptoms are beyond the scope of alternative treatment options — an immediate referral to a medical doctor is highly recommended if you’ve suffered any of the following:

1. The worst headache ever experienced.

2. Difficulty with and/or loss of speech, sight (double vision), hearing or taste.

3. Dizziness or confusion (or both).

4. Frequenly prolonged headaches or headaches getting progressively worse.

5. Vomiting without nausea.

6. Headache due to a traumatic incident.

A common misunderstanding is that every headache is a migraine. This is not true. There are more than 14 classifications of headaches established by the International Headache Society.

A migraine without aura is the most common type of migraine and commonly occurs in women between the ages of 10 and 30. Such headaches manifest as a throbbing pain on one side of the head and/or neck, sensitivity to light (photophobia) and sound (phonophobia), as well as feelings of nausea.

The acupuncture approach to treating this ailment is precise peripheral nerve stimulation, in which fine solid needles are inserted into areas of the individual’s body that generate pain and/or musculoskeletal dysfunction. The needle can be stimulated manually or with electricity for the therapeutic purpose of changing abnormal activity that occurs in various systems of the body.

Acupuncture is designed to ease the tension of these muscles by releasing “feel good” hormones in order to reduce pain, relax muscles and restore normal immune and body functions. There’s no reason to be afraid of needles any more.

- Dr. Joel N. Kerr is an associate chiropractor, medical acupuncturist, conditioning specialist and nutrition consultant at shape health wellness in Toronto (261 Davenport; 35 Coldwell). Dr. Kerr answers questions at [email protected].