Acupuncture better for Migraine than Botox or Drugs

Acupuncture for chronic migraine. Acupuncture for chronic migraine is more effective and causes fewer side effects, than either botox or drugs, report Iranian researchers. A total of 150 patients (48 men & 102 women) were randomly allocated to receive a course of either acupuncture, botox injections or drug therapy (sodium valproate) for three months. Patients in the acupuncture group received 30 treatments in all.

During the study period, pain severity, migraine frequency and need for medication, decreased in all three groups, with the greatest reduction in the acupuncture group. Incidence and severity of side effects was also significantly lower in the acupuncture group compared with the botox group (eyelid droop or ptosis) and the sodium valproate group (weight gain, tremor, sleep disorders, hair loss). The authors conclude that all three therapies are effective but acupuncture may be the preferred method because of higher effectiveness and fewer side effects.

(Acupuncture and botulinum toxin A injection in the treatment of chronic migraine: A randomized controlled study. Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine, Summer 2017.)

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.