A study by the University of Padua in Italy of acupuncture and migraine, has attempted to compare the effectiveness of true traditional Chinese acupuncture, with sham acupuncture (in which patients were lead to believe needles were being inserted) and standard drug therapy with Rizatriptan.
A total of 160 participants were divided into four groups, comprising a true traditional acupuncture group plus the drug, two groups using variations of sham acupuncture plus the drug, and finally, the drug only. Improvements were found in all groups at three and six months, but true traditional acupuncture was the only treatment to provide a significant improvement at both three and six months, compared to drug therapy only.
(Traditional Acupuncture in Migraine: A Controlled Randomized Study. Headache Journal, 11 December 2007.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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