Chinese researchers studying whether acupuncture helps migraine, have performed a meta-analysis of trials, to compare acupuncture with both botox and topiramate. They looked at 15 randomised controlled trials covering 2545 patients.
Analysis showed that acupuncture and topiramate were most effective in reduction of monthly headache and migraine days, with botox following closely behind. Acupuncture though, resulted in the fewest treatment-induced adverse events. Topiramate caused the most adverse events and consequently the highest rate of dropouts.
(Topiramate, acupuncture, and BoNT-A for chronic migraine: a network meta-analysis. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 3 January 2021.)
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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