If you suffer from headaches - whether they be migraine or sinus headaches - you might automatically think of popping a pill. But for a more natural remedy -- and one that's gaining momentum all the time -- think about acupuncture for sinus headache migrains.

The thought of acupuncture makes many people cringe. But the art and craft of acupuncture is gaining popularity among people who don't want to take pain pills or other drugs, but who are looking for natural, pure remedies.

Simply put, acupuncture is the delicate insertion of very thin needles at various points on the body to relieve pain or promote healing. Relief of sinus, tension and migraine headaches is a common impetus for acupuncture treatment, but it's used for a variety of other needs, including healing after injury, relief from the pain and discomfort of chemotherapy, and a variety of other ailments and illnesses.

It's believed that inserting the needles at specific points in the body realigns the body's electrical fields which helps to relieve pain or promote the healing necessary for recovery from injury or disease.

As for headaches, the use of acupuncture is gaining in popularity thanks both to the acceptance the practice is gaining in traditional circles, and reports that the practice is effective in relieving headache pain.

A recent study showed that the use of acupuncture was effective in relieving the pain of migraine headaches but experts aren't exactly sure why. They say it's possible acupuncture has a "placebo" effect, where the patient believes the treatment will help and so it does, without much medical basis for the benefit or relief.

Others say acupuncture works for migraine and sinus headaches because the acupuncture needles are inserted specifically to re-channel the body's energy fields and produce a biochemical change in the body's blood serum.

If you suffer from sinus or migraine headaches, you know that pain relief in the form of a pill can work. But after four or six hours, the pain returns and you return to the medicine cabinet for another "hit" of the pain-relieving drug. Experts say that the use of acupuncture reduces your dependence on pain-relief drugs, whether they are addictive or not. Over time such drugs can cause liver or kidney damage, or ulcers. If you need medication from your doctor, the drugs can become addictive as well.

If you have long suffered from sinus or migraine headaches you might have turned to the use of steroid injections for relief. But these can very painful (unlike acupuncture, which most users report is painless) and if used for a long period of time can cause life-threatening side effects.