Headaches that can last a long time and become chronic if left untreated The pattern and range of headache pain vary greatly from person to person. However, because pain is a subjective symptom and can be difficult to objectify, most patients often endure the pain based on their own judgment or treat it on their own.
Headache is a pain that almost everyone may experience in life, but if there is no organic disorder of the brain, CT or MRI often shows no particular problem. In Korean medicine, headache is called the chief of all diseases (百病之長), meaning it can appear in any illness. If a headache lasts a long time or is severe, it should be observed carefully because it may be a symptom not only of a nervous system disorder but also of a systemic disease.
Headaches that can last a long time and become chronic if left untreated The pattern and range of headache pain vary greatly from person to person. However, because pain is a subjective symptom and can be difficult to objectify, most patients often endure the pain based on their own judgment or treat it on their own.
Headache is a pain that almost everyone may experience in life, but if there is no organic disorder of the brain, CT or MRI often shows no particular problem. In Korean medicine, headache is called the chief of all diseases (百病之長), meaning it can appear in any illness. If a headache lasts a long time or is severe, it should be observed carefully because it may be a symptom not only of a nervous system disorder but also of a systemic disease.
Types of headache Headaches can be broadly divided into two types: primary headaches, which have no identifiable cause on examination, and secondary headaches, which are caused by another underlying disease, trauma, cerebrovascular disease, or other factors. Primary headaches are commonly seen headaches and refer to cases in which no specific cause can be found. Patients may feel unpleasant sensations such as stabbing pain, fogginess, or heaviness in the head. In Korean medicine, Migraine, Tension-Type Headache, and other types are distinguished and treated with acupuncture at helpful acupoints or herbal medicine prescriptions according to the Causes.
(1) Tension-Type Headache
This refers to the most common type of headache. Tension-Type Headache does not greatly interfere with daily life, but many patients report a feeling of pressure in the head and stiffness in the neck and shoulders. There is no clear cause, but it mainly appears in office workers with active social lives and occurs when fatigue has built up or stress is present. It can also occur after staying in the same posture for a long time. For Tension-Type Headache, when it is related to ulhwa (鬱火), or pent-up fire from long-standing stress in the body, and pungdam (風痰), or wind-phlegm, treatment is needed to relax tension in the muscles around the neck and head and remove phlegm.
(2) Migraine
Migraine generally refers to repeated and persistent headaches that usually occur on one side of the head. The pain is often paroxysmal and severe, and the headache may worsen with movement or exertion. Symptoms may be accompanied by pain that feels as if the head will split, nausea, and queasiness. Because Migraine is especially influenced by female hormones, its incidence is about 3 times higher in women than in men. Family history cannot be overlooked in Migraine, but other triggering factors commonly include alcohol, stress, lack of sleep, and overwork.
(3) Cluster Headache
Cluster headache is a type of headache that recurs over a certain period, with headaches occurring intensively 1–2 times a year during specific weather or seasons and at similar times of day. The exact cause of cluster headache has not been identified, but it is considered a type of trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia that occurs when there is an abnormality in the hypothalamus or autonomic nervous system. Unlike migraine, it occurs more often in men in their 20s to 40s due to factors such as alcohol use, smoking, and stress.
Dizziness (眩暈) Dizziness refers to a perceptual phenomenon in which the surroundings feel as if they are spinning even when you are still. In Korean medicine, dizziness is called hyeonhun, which refers to symptoms such as feeling that the head is spinning, vision going dark, and nausea similar to motion sickness. Depending on the cause, dizziness is classified into ear disorders, brain disorders, internal medicine conditions, and psychogenic conditions. Ear disorders include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Meniere’s disease, and vestibular neuropathy. Internal medicine conditions include indigestion, diabetes, anemia, and reflux esophagitis; brain disorders include brain tumors and stroke; and psychogenic conditions are known to appear together with panic disorder, hwabyeong, or depression.
In Korean medicine, dizziness has been classified into cases caused by invasion of external pathogenic factors leading to wind-phlegm (風痰), and cases in which the body’s vital energy is weak and internal healthy qi is insufficient. If dizziness continues, it is important not to dismiss it simply as feeling lightheaded, but to have it assessed through accurate diagnosis and treatment.
(1) Peripheral Vertigo
Peripheral vertigo refers to cases in which a problem occurs in the vestibular nerve, such as the semicircular canals located near the cochlea in the ear. Most people who report dizziness fall into this category. They often say the dizziness worsens with movement, there is ringing in the ears, nausea occurs, and the ground seems to move up and down like seasickness, making them feel as if they may vomit. It generally appears suddenly, and dizziness may occur or worsen with head movement or changes in posture. Peripheral vertigo is accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, and hearing loss.
(2) Central Vertigo
Central vertigo, which is accompanied by neurological symptoms, causes dizziness even while still, reduced sensation in the hands and feet, and persistent dizziness that does not go away. Because central vertigo is caused by problems in the brain, such as stroke, brain tumor, or migraine, it is accompanied by neurological symptoms such as paralysis, decreased sensation, speech difficulty, and impaired consciousness.