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  • Writer's pictureCat Calhoun

Headaches from Structural Problems

Updated: Jul 8, 2019

Headaches caused by musculature, ligaments, tendons, bone misalignment, and even by organ systems out of harmony can be treated with Master Tung's points with good effect.


Pain in Chinese medicine arises when the flow of Qi and Blood to tissues is truncated or impacted. Identify the channel affected and treat from this perspective. I recommend cupping the appropriate areas first on the neck, shoulders, and back to encourage the Qi and Blood to flow more freely to the head.


Yangming and/or Taiyang channel headaches

  • Menjin 66.05 is a point on the Stomach channel that has a strong Taiyang and Yangming association and can treat pain in both of these channels.

Shaoyang and/or Yangming meridian headaches

  • Ce San Li and Ce Xia San Li Use these for pain that has a clear tendon and/or ligament origin. These two points are between the Gallbladder and Stomach channels, so they can treat both. These points address temporal headaches, SCM pain, and pain along the pathway of the Gallbladder meridian. Ce San Li is Master Tung's GB 34 point and influences ligaments and tendons. This point can treat both wind and phlegm as well. You can needle these or you can bleed blood vessels you find near these points. If the pain is unilateral, treat the opposite side.

Shaoyang and Shaoyin headaches

  • San Zhong or Three Weights This set of three points (77.05, 77.06, and 77.07) includes Gallbladder 39, the influential point of marrow, so these points are good for anything brain or head related. They also mirror the neck, so are good for neck pain associated with a headache. The Gallbladder meridian is a Shaoyang meridian, so it connects not just to the Shaoyang channel, but also to the and Shaoyin, the Kidney meridian. Kidney influences the brain, bone, and wind. Win win! San Zhong can treat migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, brain tumors, strokes, wind invasion, phlegm, facial paralysis. . . basically anything that can go wrong in the cranium. Make this a go-to point!

Yangming and Wind or Immune related headaches

  • Si Ma San or Four Horses Four Horses contains a point called the "wind market." It is good for all wind-related headaches and any headache related to immune system problems.

Thyroid imbalance related headaches

  • Susan Johnson recommends using Leg Five 77.24 and Leg 1000 Gold 77.25 for headaches related to thyroid dysfunction. I'll confess I've never used this and have never once seen a headache patient with thyroid problems, but I offer this set of points to you to try. Susan Johnson is amazing. She wouldn't recommend it if it didn't work. Check her out on eLotus and get some CEU/PDA credit.

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