Last week, we focused on Exterior patterns of headaches, so this week we’ll focus on Interior Excess headaches. Believe it or not, there are eleven different kinds of Interior Excess headaches. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, the topic of headaches from is incredibly vast.
Interior headaches are separated into Excess and Deficient patterns. This week, we will cover the Excess pattern, and, next week, stay tuned for the Deficient kinds.
Excess headaches are typically caused by a blockage in the circulation of energy and blood to the head. While this may sound pretty drastic, these kinds of energetic imbalances are quite common from a TCM perspective.
TCM terminology of Excess-patterned Internal headaches can arise from a few seemingly “odd” terms. So, prepare yourself for some fascinating new verbiage. I will get straight to the point (since I AM an acupuncturist!).
1. Liver Yang Rising headache: the most common of Interior headaches. The most frequent cause is emotional. Anger, frustration, and resentment over time can lead to this kind of headache. (From a TCM perspective, other patterns that can lead to Liver Yang Rising include Liver Blood deficiency, Liver Yin deficiency, Liver and Kidney Yin deficiency and Liver/ Kidney Yin and Kidney Yang deficiency. More details on this another time, there is so much to know.)
These headaches are intense, severe, throbbing, or distending. Often described as “pulsating,” “pounding,” or “bursting” headaches, affecting one or both sides of the head, the temple, or eyebrow. These are often felt behind one or both eyes or eyebrows. These headaches can affect vision. People often see flashing lights, auras, or experience blurred vision. These headaches can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. A person may also have symptoms of dizziness, tinnitus, deafness, a dry throat, irritability, and insomnia.
Most people who have these headaches feel better while sitting upright or propped up with pillows. It is not uncommon for these headaches to strike during the weekend, after long hours of work and stress.
2. Liver Fire headache: This pattern has some similar symptoms as above, including dizziness, tinnitus, deafness, irritability, a dry throat, and insomnia. It is also accompanied by thirst and a bitter taste in the mouth, scanty and dark urine, constipation with dry stools, and red eyes. The headache in this pattern is similar to Liver Yang headaches, with throbbing, distending, pulsation, or bursting. These headaches are more intense and more fixed in one place, frequently accompanied by nausea or vomiting.
3. Liver Wind headache: This headache haa a pulling quality, affecting the entire head. A slight tremor of a limb, shaking of the head, and numbness can also accompany these kinds of headaches.
4. Liver Qi Stagnation headache: This headache is typically caused by anxiety and stress, usually occurring on the forehead or temples, often moving from one side to the other. The digestive system could also be affected. Other symptoms include rib and side discomfort or distention, nervousness, poor digestion, belching, gas, abdominal distention, and small pellet stools.
5. Stagnation of Cold in the Liver Change headache: This kind of headache is infrequent, but is characterized by intense aching at the top of the head and an overall cold body sensation, vomiting, and severely cold limbs.
6. Dampness headache: This pattern includes a dull headache, typically feeling as if the head were wrapped in cotton. The headache can encompass the whole head or just the forehead or very occasionally the temples and sides of the head. There’s a heavy sensation in the head, causing a difficulty in thinking or logic. Symptoms are worse in the morning. These headaches can also include a persistent inflammation of the mucous membranes, including occasional sinusitis, nausea, lack of appetite, and a feeling of fullness from above the belly button into the chest.
7. Turbid Phlegm headache: This headache is similar to a Dampness headache, bringing with it the same dullness pain, feeling of heaviness, and cloudy thinking. However, these headaches affect the orifices more, resulting in blurred vision and dizziness, which are not features of the Dampness headaches. Phlegm headaches also have persistent inflammation of the mucous membranes, plus fullness and tightness in the chest.
8. Turbid Phlegm Wind headache: This is very similar to the Turbid Phlegm headaches. It is more often seen in elderly people and may indicate the likelihood of a stroke. This headache may include numbness of the extremities, loss of coordination, and a sudden loss of consciousness.
9. Retention of Food headache: Symptoms of this headache include an intense forehead pain, aggravated by eating. Other characteristics are a fullness above the belly button into the chest, sour regurgitation, belching, and bad breath.
10. Stasis of Blood headache: This is often associated with chronic headaches. It can be caused by trauma, including an old fall or accident. These headaches are extremely intense, with a very specific stabbing or nail-being-driven-into-the-head pain. These headaches are more common in elderly people and in women. Other symptoms include a darkening of the complexion, rib or side discomfort, abdominal pain, painful periods, and clotty menstrual flow.
11. Stomach Heat headache: In chronic cases, these headaches are often caused by an overconsumption of meat, hot spices, fried foods, and alcohol. These headaches are intense, wrapping the forehead with pain. These headaches can also appear with fevers. Other symptoms can include sweating and thirst, dry stool, and possible digestive discomfort.
Ok.. so that was eleven kinds of headaches to add to the list! Headaches do remain one of the most common reasons people seek out acupuncture and alternative and complimentary methods of treating of pain. Not all headaches are the same!
From a TCM perspective, different patterns and symptoms of headaches require a different treatment protocol. With care and precision, we can treat all of these.
Contributor
Acupuncturist, herbalist, Maya abdominal practitioner, and reflexologist Christina Morris is the founder of Element Natural Healing Arts. Writing about health and wellness gives her an outlet to express her care and concern for her beloved community. She believes everyone can achieve better health and happiness–emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.