What We Treat: Headaches

Experiencing an occasional headache can be part of life, but when one endures headaches or migraines on a regular basis, our ability to function at our best is a challenge. For some, medications are the answer; however, no medicine is without side-effects. Others might find that their medicines are not working as well as they used to. Patients that are looking for additional support for the treatment of their chronic headaches may consider acupuncture.

All medicines have limitations, and acupuncture is no exception. Acupuncture can't treat every condition, but generally headaches respond well to acupuncture. It has been our experience that acupuncture can reduce the intensity, duration, and frequency of headaches and migraines.

More and more people are using alternative medicines to treat health concerns. Therefore, it is clinically and socially responsible to scientifically investigate if the alternative medicine, in this case acupuncture, is a legitimate treatment for the condition.

Robert B. Kelly, MD of Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio published an investigative article regarding acupuncture for the treatment of pain including headaches in the September 1, 2009 issue of American Family Physician. In this article, Dr. Kelly reports that scientific studies show that acupuncture for the treatment of chronic idiopathic headaches and migraines earned a grade A evidence rating. This means that acupuncture for the treatment of headaches and migraines is effective and safe. The references that led Dr. Kelly to this rating are listed below. To find out more about how acupuncture can be helpful to you, please feel free to give us a call. We look forward to helping you feel better.

References

  1. Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Manheimer E, Vickers A, White AR, Acupuncture for tension-type headache. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;(1):CD007587.
  2. Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Manheimer E, Vickers A, White AR, Acupuncture for Migraine prophylaxis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;(1):CD001218.
  3. Coeytaux RR, Kaufman JS, Kaptchuk TJ, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of acupuncture for chronic daily headache. Headache. 2005;45(9):1113-1123.
  4. Vickers AJ, Rees RW, Zollman CE, et al. Acupuncture of chronic headaches disorders in primary care: randomized controlled trail and economic analysis. Health Technol Assess. 2004;8 (48):iii, 1-35.
  5. Alecrim-Andrade J. Maciel-Júnior JA, Carnč X, Severino Vasconcelos GM, Correa-Filho HR. Acupuncture in migraine prevention: a randomized sham controlled study with 6-months posttreatment follow up. Clin J Pain. 2008;24(2):98-105.
  6. Streng A, Linde K, Hoppe A, et al. Effectiveness and tolerability of acupuncture compared with metoprolol in migraine prophylaxis. Headache. 2006;46(10):1492-1502.