The effects and symptoms of Migraine were recorded in Chinese medical texts centuries before Western medicine classified them. Interestingly, Western medicine research only recently has confirmed the link between migraines and strokes. This is why in classic Chinese medical texts the authors stressed the importance of curing migraine so as to prevent the possible future complication of having a stroke.
Still today from an allopathic view, there is no effective cure for migraines and Western medicine can still only offer drugs to control the attacks. There are a number of causes in Chinese medical terms that lead to migraines with the Liver being the most common one. In simplified terms, the Liver is made up of yin and yang which can be interpreted as water and fire. If the fire component becomes out of balance, fire rises and goes to the head. In the natural environment heat rises and the same happens in the human body. When the Liver heats up some its fire goes sideways and causes nausea and vomiting. In Chinese medicine there is a saying “When you lie down, the blood flows back to the Liver”. This is why for many migraine sufferers; the only thing that really helps is to sleep it off. The reason for this is because lying flat allows the blood in the Liver to balance its fire and water again.
