Acupuncture for Migraine

A German Study from The University of Essen published in The Lancet (online edition) has shown that acupuncture for migraine may be as useful as prescription drugs in preventing attacks. In fact the study showed that even sham acupuncture worked!

The acupuncture migraine study was carried out over a 26 week period with more than 400 people who had an average of two to six migraines a month. Subjects received either:

• Daily drug therapy, with beta-blockers
• Sham acupuncture, with needles placed in spots not used in real acupuncture
• Real acupuncture

The results showed that all the subjects had fewer migraines over the study period. Those having both real acupuncture treatment and sham acupuncture to prevent migraine had similar results to those on the drug therapy in reducing the number of migraine attacks experienced.

The average drop in days with migraines:

• 2.3 fewer migraine days with real acupuncture
• 1.3 fewer migraine days with sham acupuncture
• 2.1 fewer migraine days with drug therapy

The study authors were surprised by the results of the sham acupuncture. They write that patients in both acupuncture groups were treated with a similar number of needles and got the same amount of attention from acupuncturists. The only difference was where the needles were placed.

Unfortunately 125 people dropped out of the study prior to the commencement of treatment. Of these 106 were in the drug group. This may have affected the results. The authors say that even so the results are similar to those found in other similar studies.

Ref.Diener, H. The Lancet, March 2, 2006; online edition. WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise:Acupuncture: Topic Overview. News release, The Lancet  

Review Study: Efficacy of Acupuncture For Headaches

A meta study looked at 31 randomized controlled trials investigating the use of acupuncture for chronic headache. Studies that had used real acupuncture, sham acupuncture, medication and other nonpharmacological treatments for chronic headache, including migraine and/or tension-type headache in adult subjects.

The majority of included trials comparing true acupuncture and sham acupuncture showed a trend in favor of acupuncture The data also showed that real acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture or medication on all three measures. The study concluded that real acupuncture is a superior treatment than sham acupuncture and drugs for chronic headaches.

Reference: Acupuncture for Management of Chronic Headaches a Systematic Review

Acupuncture Resources

	The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook " This is an excellent book (with medical references) that does a very good job of helping you get rid of pain..." Customer   "After a full year of severe dysfunction of my right hand, arm, and particularly my right thumb THE TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK revealed to me the astonishing fact that most of my trouble was being caused by 'trigger points' in the scalene muscles of my neck and also in the area above my clavicle. What could I do about it? Simply massage them away - within half an hour of hitting the correct locations my right thumb (and hand and arm) seemed to heal by about 60%! The rest of the healing took maybe 3 more weeks of finding these things and methodically deactivating them..." Customer
	Acupressure Points " This is a very useful reference for anyone interested in playing an active part in healing themselves. Just look up your complaint (headache, nausea, etc) and the book provides several points that may help, along with a description of the points, their names and what they are specifically helpful for. The book also provides detailed instructions and photos to help you get the proper position of the points. Very easy to use and understand."

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