Patients who received real acupuncture had their headache reduced from 20 days to 7 days a month, and those who received superficial acupuncture were reduced from 23 days to 12 days a month.
New research shows that acupuncture can reduce headaches.
According to a recent study NeurologyOf, Official Magazine American Academy of NeurologyAcupuncture can help people with chronic anxiety headaches feel pain.
The most common type of stress headache is mild to moderate pressure or numbness in both parts of the head. Exercise does not aggravate these headaches, and they do not come with nausea. When it occurs at least 15 days a month, anxiety-like headaches are classified as chronic.
“Anxiety-type headaches are one of the most common types of headaches, and many people with migraine headaches may seek alternatives to medication,” says Zheng Li, of the Chengdu Cultural University. Chinese medicine in Chengdu, China. “Our study shows that acupuncture reduces the average number of headaches per month for those struggling with these painful and disturbing headaches.”
218 participants who tested for chronic anxiety disorder participated in the study. For an average of 11 years, they have had a stress-related headache for 22 days a month. Real acupuncture or superficial acupuncture is given to participants at random. True acupuncture treatments involve the insertion and application of a needle into the body to relieve numbness or numbness. In order to prevent the onset of depression, topical treatments should have a deeper penetration into the body. Both groups received two or three sessions per week for a total of 20 sessions over a two-month period, after which they continued to appear for six months.
The main result measured in the study was a reduction of at least 50% of the days with headache. All participants visited clinics every four weeks. They used headache notebooks to record symptoms and use emergency medications.
By the end of the study, 68% of people who practiced real acupuncture had at least 50% reduction in at least 50% of their daily headache days, compared to 50% of those who received topical acupuncture.
Researchers have found that the number of menstrual headaches gradually decreases after treatment. For those who received real acupuncture, at the beginning of the study, headaches were reduced by 20 days per month at the end of the study seven days a month. For those who received superficial acupuncture, the number of headache days at the beginning of the study was reduced from 23 days per month to 12 days per month.
The side effects from the treatment are mild and do not require treatment.
“This study shows that acupuncture can reduce headaches, more research is needed to determine how long acupuncture is effective and how it compares to other treatment options,” he said. “Cost-effectiveness in comparing treatment options is another important factor to consider.”
Limitations of the study Because the study was conducted in one hospital, the results may not work in all populations.
The study was funded by the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Department and the China National Natural Science Foundation.
Reference: “A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for patients with chronic stress-type headache” by Hui Zheng, Tao Gao, Qian-Hua Zheng, Ling-Yun Lu, Ting-Hui Hou, Shu-Sen Zhang, Si-Yuan Zhou , Xin-Yu Hao, Lu Wang, Ling Zhao, Fan-Rong Liang and Ying Li, June 22, 2022; Neurology.
DOI ፡ 10.1012 / WNL.0000000000200670