Acupuncture offers Long-Term Reduction in Migraine Frequency

Researchers in China have shown that acupuncture gives a long-term reduction in migraine frequency, compared with sham or no treatment. A total of 249 participants, aged 18 to 65, who experienced migraine without aura between two and eight times per month, were randomised to acupuncture, sham or waiting list groups. The acupuncture groups had sessions five days per week for four weeks. Patients were followed up for a further 20 weeks after the end of treatment. Treatment was given at outpatient clinics across three locations.

Compared with sham needling, true acupuncture was significantly more effective at reducing migraines at all time points. Sham treatment did not differ significantly from waiting list control. At 16 weeks after the start of the trial, mean monthly migraine frequencies had decreased by 3.2 in the acupuncture group, 2.1 in the sham group and 1.4 in the waiting list group.

(The Long-term Effect of Acupuncture for Migraine Prophylaxis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, April 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.