Acupuncture for Migraine & Headaches
What do studies show?
Multiple studies have shown that acupuncture works as well at preventing migraine as medications do, and perhaps even better. Acupuncture has the advantage of not having side effects, like so many medications do. Many people either don’t want to take daily medications to prevent headaches, or have tried this in the past and found that the medications were ineffective or caused intolerable side effects. Additionally, since acupuncture works by causing the brain to release endorphins, you may get some nice “bonus effects” from acupuncture, in addition to improvement in migraine / headaches. These “bonus effects” can include improved sense of well-being, improvement in mood, decreased anxiety, better sleep, and decrease in other types of pain, such as low back pain.
One recent study of 150 people with episodic migraine (less than 15 migraine days per month) found that people receiving acupuncture had fewer migraine days than the control (non-acupuncture group). Another high quality study (randomized controlled trial) with 480 people found that acupuncture decreased the number of migraine days, compared to a control group that received sham (“fake”) acupuncture.
Additionally, this reduction in headache / migraine days tends to last! One large study found that migraine patients still had fewer migraines 4 months after finishing a series of acupuncture treatments. In addition to helping with migraine headaches, acupuncture has also been show to improve tension type headaches.
What about relieving a migraine in the short-term?
Acupuncture can help as a “rescue treatment” as well, meaning it can help to relieve a migraine when it’s occurring. Some studies show that acupuncture is likely to be as effective as medications in relieving a migraine. Acupuncture has the advantage of having very few side effects. A particular type of auricular (ear) acupuncture called Battlefield Acupuncture is particularly good at relieving acute pain.
What about kids?
Yes, acupuncture helps relieve headaches in kids as well. There is less evidence for this, but there are some studies using acupuncture in kids to successfully treat headaches. Most studies of acupuncture in children have focused on showing that it is safe for kids, and that it is something that many kids and their parents are interested in trying.
How many acupuncture sessions will I need?
That’s a great question, and each person is different. In general, you can expect that it will take at least several acupuncture sessions to see significant and lasting results. Many acupuncturists recommend a course of between 6 and 10 sessions. Once you are seeing improvement in your pain, treatments can often be spaced out to once a month to maintain these good benefits.
Sources:
Xu S, Yu L, Luo X, Wang M, Chen G, Zhang Q, Liu W, Zhou Z, Song J, Jing H, Huang G, Liang F, Wang H, Wang W. Manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture and usual care for prophylaxis of episodic migraine without aura: multicentre, randomised clinical trial. BMJ. 2020 Mar 25;368:m697. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m697. PMID: 32213509; PMCID: PMC7249245.
Li Y, Zheng H, Witt CM, Roll S, Yu SG, Yan J, Sun GJ, Zhao L, Huang WJ, Chang XR, Zhang HX, Wang DJ, Lan L, Zou R, Liang FR. Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ. 2012 Mar 6;184(4):401-10. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.110551. Epub 2012 Jan 9. PMID: 22231691; PMCID: PMC3291669.
Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Fei Y, Mehring M, Vertosick EA, Vickers A, White AR. Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Jun 28;2016(6):CD001218. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3. PMID: 27351677; PMCID: PMC4977344.
Zhao L, Chen J, Li Y, Sun X, Chang X, Zheng H, Gong B, Huang Y, Yang M, Wu X, Li X, Liang F. The Long-term Effect of Acupuncture for Migraine Prophylaxis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Apr 1;177(4):508-515. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.9378. PMID: 28241154.
Graff DM, McDonald MJ. Auricular Acupuncture for the Treatment of Pediatric Migraines in the Emergency Department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2018 Apr;34(4):258-262. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000000789. PMID: 27139637.
Doll E, Threlkeld B, Graff D, Clemons R, Mittel O, Sowell MK, McDonald M. Acupuncture in Adult and Pediatric Headache: A Narrative Review. Neuropediatrics. 2019 Dec;50(6):346-352. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1695785. Epub 2019 Aug 29. PMID: 31466110.
Wang Y, Du R, Cui H, Zhang L, Yuan H, Zheng S. Acupuncture for acute migraine attacks in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Evid Based Med. 2023 Aug;28(4):228-240. doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2022-112135. Epub 2023 Jul 7. PMID: 37419658.
Kim H, Markert R, Burtson K. Battlefield acupuncture appears to be an effective therapy for pain management. Acupunct Med. 2022 Feb;40(1):43-49. doi: 10.1177/09645284211050648. Epub 2021 Oct 8. PMID: 34625003.
