Acupuncture helps chronic headaches. And in particular migraine.

Acupuncture and migraine: a new study from UK

According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal, Acupuncture helps to relieve the chronic headaches, migraine in particular. Such are the conclusions of a clinical study, carried out in England and in Wales.

The study aimed at evaluating if acupuncture could be effective, in the case of the headaches, to be integrated into the free care of the system of public health in England.

The researchers followed 401 patients suffering from chronic headaches, mainly from migraines for 12 months.

These patients had been divided in two groups: one received up to 12 treatments of acupuncture for three months, while the others were treated with a usual medication and were used as a reference group.

Researches measured the gravity of the headaches among patients after 3 and 12 months. They also evaluated, the need to take drugs or to consult a doctor.

After 12 months, the results showed that the headaches had decreased twice more in the group treated by acupuncture that in the group which received a medication (reduction of 34% against 16%).

The patients, who belonged to the group treated by acupuncture, counted on average 22 days fewer headaches per year. The acupuncture group had used less drugs, made less medical visits and taken less sick leave.

The researchers concluded that acupuncture produces beneficial and persisting effects among patients suffering from chronic headaches, especially from migraines.

My comment:

In my experience acupuncture combined with gentle mobilisation of neck muscles is the most effective way to treat migraines. Sometimes the researchers are so busy determining what exactly worked and how, that they stop seeing the bigger picture. And in the case of migraine, a combination of therapies is significantly more effective than either therapy on its own. It is important to relax the neck muscles and acupuncture alone is not as effective. There was another study on migraines, where they injected Botox into acupuncture points to relax the neck muscles and to stimulate the acupuncture points. The result was a long term relief. However, there are risks involved in using Botox, not to mention it is very expensive.

More about acupuncture, neck pain and headache here.

Fibromyalgia :: Acupuncture effectively relieves pain, anxiety and tiredness

Fibromyalgia is a disabling disorder. It is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms. It’s often keeps company with fatigue, joint stiffness, memory and concentration problems, anxiety, depression and disturbed sleep.

The exact cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown, but it is believed to involve a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors that affect the way the nervous system processes pain signals.  No cure is known and available, most of the treatments are only partially effective.

Researchers are often turning their heads to time-tested acupuncture when there is no pharmacological option available. A dedicated team of researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine embarked on an adventure to test the hypothesis that acupuncture could improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. They designed a study where patients would either receive true acupuncture or simulated acupuncture, serving as the control group. And prior to the study, all the participants had tried numerous other treatments without success.

The team of researchers were pleasantly surprised that acupuncture significantly improved fibromyalgia symptoms compared to the control group. And not only pain. Among other symptoms, fatigue and anxiety were also greatly reduced.

Acupuncture may be a complication-free form of pain relief for patients with fibromyalgia, say Mayo Clinic researchers.

This study affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients.

Learn more about pain relief with acupuncture.

Acupuncture for headache

Needles better than pills for headache

Chronic daily headaches (CDH) are an unfortunate reality for approximately 4% of people . While medical management is the go-to solution for many, it often fails to provide the desired relief. In response to this problem, researchers have delved into the potential benefits of acupuncture as a complementary therapy to medical management. In this blog post, we’ll explore the fascinating findings of this groundbreaking study.

The study, published in the journal of Headache, confirmed once more, that acupuncture can help relieve chronic headaches.

A course of 10 acupuncture treatments over a period of six weeks had made a difference in the quality of life of adult headache sufferers participating in the study.

People who received acupuncture (and standard treatment) were 3.7 times more likely to report less suffering from headaches compared with those who received standard treatment alone.

Methods: A Synergy of Tradition and Modern Medicine
Researchers conducted a randomized, controlled trial with 74 CDH patients to investigate the impact of combining medical management with acupuncture. Participants were divided into two groups – one receiving medical management alone, and the other receiving medical management plus ten acupuncture treatments. Researchers then evaluated daily pain severity and headache-related quality of life (QoL).

Results: A Ray of Hope for CDH Sufferers
Interestingly, the group receiving only medical management exhibited no significant improvement in any standardized measures. Although daily pain severity scores showed a downward trend, no notable differences were observed between the two groups (P = .60).

In contrast, the group receiving both medical management and acupuncture experienced remarkable improvements in health-related QoL. On the Headache Impact Test, these participants scored 3.0 points higher (95% CI, 1.0 to 4.9) compared to the medical management-only group. They also reported at least an 8-point increase in domains such as role limitations due to physical problems, social functioning, and general mental health on the Short Form 36 Health Survey.

Furthermore, patients who received acupuncture were 3.7 times more likely (CI, 1.7 to 8.1) to report reduced suffering from headaches at the 6-week mark (absolute risk reduction 46%; number needed to treat 2).

Conclusion: A Winning Combination for Chronic Headache Relief
The study’s results suggest that incorporating acupuncture into the treatment plan can lead to significant improvements in health-related QoL and a reduced perception of headache-related suffering. This promising combination could potentially pave the way for more effective, comprehensive treatment options for CDH sufferers.