Acupuncture Plus Routine Headache Care More Effective Than Routine Care Alone
Headaches are a common ailment many of us suffer. Some people even have chronic headaches, meaning they experience more headaches than an average person. A new study indicates acupuncture combined with routine headache care may provide more headache relief than routine medical care alone. Acupuncture, as you may know, is one method of natural pain relief for several pain conditions.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a part of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been utilized for thousands of years. However, it has only begun to receive acceptance as a method of treating conditions in the United States relatively recently. The theory behind acupuncture is that we possess energy, known as qi in our bodies that flows through canals within us known as meridians. When a meridian becomes blocked or obstructed, the energy flow becomes abnormal, which is believed to cause disease and pain.
The practice of acupuncture utilizes very thin needles, which are placed at specific points on the body. The insertion of these needles is supposed to unblock the meridian, allowing qi to flow freely again, which allows our bodies to heal from disease and pain.
Acupuncture for Headaches
In this study, German researchers wanted to determine if acupuncture, combined with typical medical treatment for individuals who suffered from chronic headaches would be more effective in relieving pain than routine treatment alone. This study is the largest of its type – involving more than 15,000 participants, 3,200 of which agreed to be randomly assigned to either receive routine care or typical medical care plus acupuncture for their chronic headaches. The rest of the individuals participating in the study agreed to receive acupuncture along with their current care for their headache pain.
All of the individuals who participated in this study experienced chronic headaches, defined by the authors of the study as having at least two migraine or tension headaches each month for the duration of one year or longer. Each participant who received acupuncture had up to 15 sessions of acupuncture over a period of three months. Additionally, individuals participating in the study were asked about their headache frequency before the study began as well as six months later.
The researchers discovered participants who had received both routine headache care and acupuncture reported significantly fewer headaches after the acupuncture sessions. More specifically, participants reported having 8.4 days they experienced headaches during a three-month period at the beginning of the study and 4.7 headaches days in a three-month period after the acupuncture treatments. In contrast, participants who only received routine headache care during the study period reported experiencing 8.1 days where they had headaches over a three-month period before the study and 7.5 headache days in a three-month period after the study.
While this study indicates acupuncture combined with typical headache care is more effective than routine headache treatment alone, more research will probably be conducted to better support this claim. In the future, perhaps doctors will encourage their patients to seek acupuncture for headaches alone with any medication they give to their patients.
Source:
My Migraine Connection: Acupuncture May Ease Chronic Headaches
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