Acupuncture may considerably improve symptoms in chronic headache sufferers.

Acupuncture may considerably improve symptoms in chronic headache sufferers.



MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — According to a recent research, acupuncture may help those suffering from a persistent and excruciating type of headaches. Researchers discovered that a traditional Chinese therapy that involves inserting needles into the skin decreases tension-type headaches by 50% in many individuals.


Tension headaches are characterised by a pressing or tightening sensation on both sides of the head that is mild to moderate in severity. Fortunately, the researchers add that these headaches do not intensify with physical exertion and do not produce nausea. Tension-type headaches are considered chronic when they occur at least 15 days per month.


"Tension-type headaches are one of the most prevalent forms of headaches, and patients who get a lot of these headaches may be seeking for alternatives to medicine," says Dr. Ying Li of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in a press release.


"Our research indicated that acupuncture reduced the average number of headache days per month for those who suffer from these severe and disruptive headache assaults."


More than 200 participants with persistent tension-type headaches were recruited by the researchers. The patients had them for an average of 11 years and experienced them 22 days a month.


During the trial, each patient received either real or superficial acupuncture. True acupuncture treatments aim to achieve a "deqi" sensation, which involves inserting and manipulating a needle into the body to produce a tingling, numb, or heavy sensation.


To prevent attaining the deqi feeling, shallow treatments insert the needles with less depth. Both groups got two or three sessions each week for two months, for a total of 20 sessions. For an extra six months, researchers tracked each person's improvement.


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True acupuncture may relieve headaches for up to two weeks.


The researchers defined success as reducing the number of days with headaches by at least 50%. Every four weeks, all subjects received clinical appointments. They also kept headache diaries to track their symptoms and medication usage on a daily basis.


By the conclusion of the trial, 68 percent of people who used genuine acupuncture had reduced their monthly number of headache days by at least 50 percent. Only half of those who had shallow acupuncture sessions had the same amount of success.


Researchers also discovered that the number of monthly headache days steadily reduced following treatment in both acupuncture groups.


By the conclusion of the research, individuals who received real acupuncture had reduced their headache days from an average of 20 per month to only seven.


Headache days dropped from 23 days per month at the start of the trial to 12 days per month among those who received superficial acupuncture.


According to the data published online by the journal Neurology, the therapies' adverse effects were modest and did not need additional therapy.


"While this study demonstrated that acupuncture may lessen headaches, additional research is required to assess acupuncture's long-term efficacy and how it compares to other treatment choices," Li adds. "Another significant issue to consider when evaluating treatment alternatives is cost-effectiveness."


Source:

https://www.studyfinds.org/acupuncture-chronic-headaches/

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