A new research conducted by scientists at Germany's Centre for Complementary Medicine Research suggests that those suffering from frequent migraine headaches got better when treated with acupuncture.
The team led by Klaus Linde randomly assigned 302 patients who suffered from frequent migraine headaches to receive either traditional acupuncture, "sham" acupuncture, or no acupuncture at all.
The study consisted of a three-group, randomised, controlled trial (April 2002-January 2003) involving 302 patients (88 per cent women), average age 43 years, with migraine headaches, based on International Headache Society criteria.
Patients were randomised to either acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or waiting list control. Acupuncture and sham acupuncture were administered by specialized physicians and consisted of 12 sessions per patient over 8 weeks.
The sham treatment consisted of needles placed at non-acupuncture points. Patients were treated at 18 outpatient centres in Germany. Patients completed headache diaries from 4 weeks before to 12 weeks after randomisation and from week 21 to 24 after randomisation.
The researchers found that between baseline and weeks 9 to 12, the average number of days with headache of moderate or severe intensity decreased by 2.2 days from a baseline of 5.2 days in the acupuncture group. The sham acupuncture group showed a decrease to 2.2 days from a baseline of 5.0 days and the waiting group of 0.8 days from a baseline of 5.4 days.
"In conclusion, in our trial, acupuncture was associated with a reduction of migraine headaches compared with no treatment; however, the effects were similar to those observed with sham acupuncture and may be due to non-specific physiological effects of needling, to a powerful placebo effect, or to a combination of both," the authors added.
{{/usCountry}}"In conclusion, in our trial, acupuncture was associated with a reduction of migraine headaches compared with no treatment; however, the effects were similar to those observed with sham acupuncture and may be due to non-specific physiological effects of needling, to a powerful placebo effect, or to a combination of both," the authors added.
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