When a Headache Doesn’t Go Away: A Post-COVID Story
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Not long ago, I saw a 12-year-old child in my office who had been struggling with a debilitating headache that never seemed to let up. Day after day, for an entire month after recovering from COVID-19, the headache remained. The pain was so constant that the child was missing school, unable to focus or keep up with daily activities. For the family, it was heartbreaking to watch. The parents felt devastated and discouraged, unsure how to help their child find relief. For the child, it was exhausting— missing out on play, learning, and the joy of simply feeling well.
This story is not unique. Research shows that 30–40% of patients develop persistent headaches after COVID-19, and this includes pediatric cases. Unlike a typical headache that comes and goes, these can linger for weeks or months, often leaving families searching for answers.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), lingering symptoms after an illness are understood as an imbalance in the body’s natural energy flow. COVID-19, like many viral infections, can disrupt circulation, weaken the body’s vitality, and leave behind “residual heat” or stagnation that shows up as pain, fatigue, or brain fog.
A key organ in this process is the Liver. In TCM, the Liver is responsible for keeping energy (Qi) flowing smoothly throughout the body. When the Liver becomes stagnant — something we often see after infections, stress, or emotional strain — headaches are a typical result. This same imbalance can also contribute to irritability, digestive upset, sleep problems, and many other post-COVID complaints.
Restoring harmony in the Liver is therefore central to recovery.
Acupuncture provides a gentle way to restore this balance. By stimulating specific points, we encourage the body’s natural healing response — improving blood flow, calming inflammation, and helping the nervous system reset. Children are often particularly responsive to acupuncture, requiring only light and gentle treatments to experience noticeable changes.
Massage therapy complements this approach beautifully. In a child recovering from post-viral symptoms, massage helps relax tension, move stagnant energy, and improve circulation. It also supports the body’s natural detoxification pathways.
In both Western and Eastern medicine, the Liver is central to detoxification and recovery — it filters toxins, processes medications, and regulates key metabolic functions. When its energy becomes stagnant after illness, the body may struggle to clear inflammatory byproducts, leading to persistent headaches and fatigue.
By stimulating circulation and easing stress, massage complements acupuncture to enhance liver detoxification, allowing the body to eliminate what it no longer needs and restore healthy function.
After a series of treatments combining acupuncture and massage, restoring Liver function (TCM), the child’s headaches began to ease. Soon, the daily pain that had weighed so heavily started to lift, and life began to feel normal again. This patient fully recovered and did not require a return visit.
Stories like this remind us that healing is not only about treating symptoms but also about supporting the body’s natural resilience. By resolving stagnation in the Liver and restoring the free flow of energy, acupuncture and massage provide gentle, practical tools to recover from the lingering effects of COVID-19 and regain balance.
From my hands to your healing,
Dr. Ark
