Category: Headaches & Migraine

A systematic review of 31 trials looking at treatment of chronic headaches, including migraine and tension headaches, by acupuncture, medication, non-drug treatments and sham acupuncture, concluded that acupuncture was superior to both medication and sham acupuncture, in improving headache intensity, frequency and response rate.

(Acupuncture for the Management of Chronic Headache: A Systematic Review. Anesthesia & Analgesia, December 2008.)

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.)

A study by the University of Padua in Italy of acupuncture and migraine, has attempted to compare the effectiveness of true traditional Chinese acupuncture, with sham acupuncture (in which patients were lead to believe needles were being inserted) and standard drug therapy with Rizatriptan.

A total of 160 participants were divided into four groups, comprising a true traditional acupuncture group plus the drug, two groups using variations of sham acupuncture plus the drug, and finally, the drug only. Improvements were found in all groups at three and six months, but true traditional acupuncture was the only treatment to provide a significant improvement at both three and six months, compared to drug therapy only.

(Traditional Acupuncture in Migraine: A Controlled Randomized Study. Headache Journal, 11 December 2007.)

An audit of almost 6000 patients who attended a pain clinic in Spain over a nine year period, including those treated with acupuncture for headache pain, revealed an average success rate of 79.7%. For the audit, “success” was defined as an improvement of at least 50% in five factors: pain intensity, pain frequency, consumption of painkillers, level of incapacity, and sleep disturbance.

The highest success rate (93%) was achieved in patients with headaches. The authors conclude acupuncture is effective, carries with it no severe adverse events, and considerably reduces the consumption of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs.

(Effectiveness of acupuncture and related techniques in treating non-oncological pain in primary healthcare-an audit. Acupuncture in Medicine, June 2007.)

A randomised controlled trial looking at acupuncture for migraine prevention enrolled 114 patients to compare acupuncture with metoprolol (a beta-blocker). Treatment was given over twelve weeks, and 8 to 15 acupuncture treatments were delivered per patient. Both groups experienced a similar fall in the number of days with migraine, but there were fewer side effects with acupuncture.

The researchers concluded that acupuncture might be an effective and safe treatment option for patients unwilling or unable to take medication.

(Effectiveness and Tolerability of Acupuncture Compared with Metoprolol in Migraine Prophylaxis. Headache Journal, 2 October 2006.)