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Articles: Health
- Acupuncture for Headaches
By Rita
Jenkins
The ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture has
proven to be an effective treatment for tension headache. It not
only relieves pain, but also cuts rates of recurrence by almost
half, a recent study indicates.
Traditional Chinese
acupuncture therapy involves insertion of needles up to 3 inches
deep into the body at prescribed acupuncture points, according to
licensed acupuncturist Rong Zeng of the New York Good Health Clinic
in Manhattan.
However, a new, randomized blind study in
Germany involving 270 patients with a similar severity of tension
headache has shown that a minimal course of acupuncture works almost
as well as the traditional method.
Fewer Headaches
After Treatment - Researchers divided the patients into
three groups. Over an eight-week period, one group was treated with
traditional acupuncture, another received minimal acupuncture
(needles inserted only superficially into the skin at
non-acupuncture points), and the control group had neither
treatment.
The subjects were monitored for four weeks after
their period of treatment. Those who had received traditional
acupuncture care subsequently experienced seven fewer headaches. The
group that had been given minimal acupuncture therapy had
surprisingly similar results -- 6.6 fewer headaches.
The
control group did not fare as well, with only 1.5 fewer headaches.
Improvements in headache rates continued for months after the
acupuncture treatment, though they began to rise slightly as time
went on.
Results Subject to Interpretation -
Such a negligable difference in results between traditional
and minimal acupuncture treatments possibly indicates that the
location of acupuncture points and depth of needle insertion do not
make a major difference for treatment of tension headache, the
authors of the study suggest.
However, they caution that the
possibility of placebo effects should not be overlooked. "Placebo
effect is a factor in all types of medicine," Dr. Zeng noted. In
western medicine, for example, blind tests may reveal placebo
effects that are similar to responses to trial drugs, she explained.
In any case, it is clear that the patients who received
acupuncture treatment experienced fewer headaches. The possibility
that placebo effect plays a role in acupuncture does not detract
from its efficacy.
Rita Jenkins is a health
journalist for Daily News Central, an online publication that
delivers breaking news and reliable health information to consumers,
healthcare providers and industry professionals: http://www.dailynewscentral.com
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