It is no secret that Meghan Markle takes great care over her health and wellbeing. The 42-year-old has been known for her proactive approach to looking after both her physical and mental health for years.
Daily supplements and exercise make up part of her regular routine, with practices such as acupuncture and yoga also a part of her life.
This approach actually helped her overcome a previously “debilitating” health issue that had left her needing to go to hospital.
Speaking to living well guide, The Chalkboard, she said: “I have been a long time believer in acupuncture and cupping.
“I used to have debilitating migraines (hospitalised for them), and acupuncture and Eastern medicine absolutely changed my life.”
She added: “Migraine-free living is a game changer.”
Perhaps less well known than acupuncture, cupping therapy is an ancient healing technique that some people use to ease pain.
Originating in Asia, the therapy involves cups being placed on your back, stomach, arms, legs or other parts of your body.
A vacuum or suction force is then applied from inside the cup to pull your skin upward.
Migraines are relatively common, believed to affect around 20 percent of adults in the UK.
Often thought of as “just a bad headache” they are actually a neurological condition that can cause unbearable pain, tiredness, nausea, loss of vision, visual disturbances and numbness among other symptoms.
But Meghan isn’t alone in struggling with the severe headaches.
In his memoir Spare that was released in 2023, her husband Prince Harry recalled details of his own experience with migraines.
While hiking to the South Pole, the Duke of Sussex wrote that he suffered: “Head spins, followed by crushing migraine.
“[There was] pressure building in both lobes of my brain. I didn’t want to stop [hiking] but it wasn’t up to me.
“My body said, ‘Thanks, this is where we get off,’. The knees went. The upper torso followed. I hit the snow like a pile of rocks.”
According to Harry, he was treated with injections. He said: “Medics pitched a tent, laid me flat, gave me some sort of anti-migraine injection.
“In my buttocks, I think. Steroids, I heard them say. When I came to, I felt semi-revived.”
The NHS states that, “A migraine tends to be a very bad headache with a throbbing pain on one side of the head”.
Other symptoms can include:
- Feeling very tired and yawning a lot
- Craving certain foods or feeling thirsty
- Changes in your mood
- A stiff neck
- Urinating more.
They typically last between two hours and three days.
You should see your GP if:
- Your migraines are severe or getting worse, or lasting longer than usual
- You have migraines more than once a week
- You’re finding it difficult to control your migraines.
