Acupuncture Relieves Tension Headaches

Acupuncture relieves tension headaches. Research lead by Hannover Medical school in Germany has shown that acupuncture, either alone or combined with physiotherapy exercise, is associated with positive effects on symptom intensity, quality of life, anxiety and depression, in patients with tension headaches. They randomised 96 adults, mean age 39, with frequent episodic or chronic tension headaches, to one of four treatment groups: acupuncture, physiotherapy, both of the foregoing, or usual care. Patients were recruited via pain clinics, primary care and regional media. Treatment was given for six weeks. No severe adverse events occurred.

Depression scores for the acupuncture and acupuncture-plus-physiotherapy groups, were significantly lower than in the physiotherapy and usual care groups. Similar results were found for anxiety and physical functioning, and the benefits of acupuncture persisted at six month follow-up.

(Effects of acupuncture and medical training therapy on depression, anxiety, and quality of life in patients with frequent tension-type headache: A randomized controlled study. Cephalalgia, 9 January 2023.)

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.