Neil Kingham

Headaches are often related to stress or can occur along-side fatigue, muscular pains or insomnia and migraines are often accompanied by nausea, dizziness and aversion to bright lights. In all of these cases, Chinese Medicine can be used to treat the root cause of the problem as well as dealing with the manifestation.

In many cases tight muscles in the neck and shoulders can contribute to or even cause headaches or migraine, and Tui Na massage is especially useful to relax the muscles and often has dramatic effects. If you have held tension in these muscles for some time you may not even realise that they are the cause of the problem.

Diet can be an important factor, particularly with migraine – in some sufferers a specific food can trigger a migraine attack (often shellfish, red wine or chocolate for instance.) Even if there is not a direct trigger such as this it is often possible to control attacks by relatively simple changes to the diet, a Chinese nutritional analysis will reveal if there are changes that you could make in this area.

There are a number of causes of headaches and migraine, and Chinese medicine distinguishes many different types, depending on the nature and location of the pain, and other symptoms. The treatment is based on the Chinese diagnosis, and results are generally excellent.

The acupuncture treatment of headaches and migraines has been extensively researched, and a systematic review of the evidence by the Cochrane collaboration concluded that for migraine acupuncture treatment is at least as effective, or possible more effective than treatment with drugs, but without the side effects. They also found that treatment by acupuncture was effective for chronic tension-type headaches.

The Telegraph have reported a study by researchers of Tufts University in Massachusetts which has shown that T’ai Chi practice leads to a significant improvement in symptoms of arthritis of the knee. As well as reduced pain, the participants were able to ‘move more easily, were less depressed and were in overall better health’. Considering that they had only 12 weeks of T’ai Chi practice, the results are remarkable.

In China, T’ai Chi is routinely practiced by a large percentage of the population, especially the elderly, and has become increasingly common in the UK. I remember trying to explain it to my confused friends when I took my first t’ai chi class around 14 years ago – now pretty much everyone has heard of it, and there are classes in most towns.

The slow, rhythmic movements of the T’ai Chi forms teach a great level of body awareness, leading to an increased ability to recognise physical stress and strain, and hence reduce it. It also gently works all the joints and muscles, leading to improved flexibility, better muscle tone and better balance. It also helps to circulate Qi and Blood throughout the body, which reduces pain. All of these effects help to explain why the arthritis sufferers felt so much much benefit from their practice.

The full story can be found here

Recent joint studies from China and the USA show that regular practice of qigong can help cancer patients live longer, reports ChanelNewsAsia.com – The study shows that qigong practice significantly decreases reoccurrence of cancer and improves oxygen intake.

It’s probably not surprising that the story doesn’t make any mention of Qi or of traditional Chinese medicine, as it is reporting a scientific study. Nevertheless, the aims of qigong include regulating and strengthening the Qi, and so improving overall health. I know many people whose health has benefited from qigong practice, including some who are certain that it has helped them significantly with their recovery from serious illness. Tai Chi and Qi Gong have been part of my own practice for many years, and I often recommend them to my patients. I believe that regular practice of these arts is one of the single best ways to good health and wellbeing.

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Some studies show practicing qigong helps fight cancer