A randomised controlled trial enrolled 3182 patients with migraine and/or tension headache, to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care, compared with routine care alone. At three months, the number of days with headache had decreased more in the acupuncture group than in the group receiving routine care alone. Furthermore, intensity of pain and quality of life improvements were greater in the acupuncture group.
The researchers concluded that acupuncture plus routine care in patients with headache, was associated with marked clinical improvements compared with routine care alone.
(Acupuncture in Patients with Headache. Cephalalgia Journal, 1 September 2008.)
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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