Childhood headaches can feel like an endless journey. I know this because I’ve lived it.

When my son was five, any car trip over ten minutes would leave him clutching his head in agony. Every extra minute was torturous for him and for us. As a responsible parent (and an acupuncturist), I suggested we try acupuncture. He flatly refused. So I waited.

Fast-forward almost a year, and we were preparing for a 24-hour flight to Europe. My six-year-old sidled up to me and asked, “If I have some acupuncture, will I still get the headaches?” Suddenly, the very treatment he’d loathed had become his own request.

I completely understand why parents hesitate: kids can be frightened of needles. That’s why we offer gentle laser acupuncture—no needles, just a warm, soothing beam that’s perfectly safe for children.

Here’s the science behind it. German researchers conducted a study,  to investigate whether laser acupuncture is effective in children with headache.

They divided the kids in two groups with headache (either migraine (22 patients) or tension type headache (21 patients). Kids randomly received a course of 4 treatments over four weeks with either active or placebo laser.

The treatment was highly individualised based on criteria of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Researches measured children’s pain levels during 4 weeks before randomization (baseline), at weeks 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16 from baseline. The mean number of headaches per month decreased significantly by 6.4 days in the real laser acupuncture group. It means kids suffered less after the treatment!

It is a pity that the parents perceive that acupuncture is not for children. As per this study, laser acupuncture is highly effective for kids suffering from headaches.

A study published in medical journal Pain.