Acupuncture works for headaches

The Journal of Chinese Medicine’s latest on acupuncture and migraine:
The addition of 12 additional trials (carried out since 2001) to the Cochrane Database Systematic Review of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis increased the number of trials meeting the inclusion criteria to 22, involving a total of 4419 participants. The authors’ new conclusion, based on the additional data, is that there is now consistent evidence that acupuncture provides additional benefit in the treatment of acute migraine attacks to routine care.

They go on to state that the results do not support the effect of true acupuncture over sham interventions, although they explain that this is difficult to interpret. However, they further conclude that the current available studies suggest that acupuncture is at least as effective as, or possibly more effective than, prophylactic drug treatment, with fewer adverse effects and that it should be considered as a treatment option for migraine patients. (Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Jan 21;(1):CD001218).

In a second review article, investigators examined the effectiveness of acupuncture for tension-type headaches. Six additional trials have been added since the previous version of the review (published in 2001), making a total of 11 trials (2317 participants) meeting the inclusion criteria. Two large trials found significant short-term benefits (up to three months) associated with acupuncture as an adjunct to basic care (treatment of acute headache with painkillers). The number of headache days was reduced by at least 50% in 47% of patients who received acupuncture plus basic care, compared to 16% experiencing a 50% reduction in the number with basic care alone.

The authors conclude that the available evidence suggests that acupuncture is a valuable option for patients suffering from frequent tension-type headache. (Acupuncture for tension-type headache. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Jan 21;(1):CD007587).