Understanding Headaches: A Holistic Perspective
Headaches are a common condition experienced by individuals of all ages, ranging in severity from mild discomfort to debilitating pain. They can be categorized into several types, including tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches, each with distinct causes and characteristics. While conventional treatments often focus on pain management through medications, acupuncture offers a complementary approach aimed at addressing both symptoms and underlying imbalances in the body.
Research and Evidence
A potentially important role for acupuncture as part of a treatment plan for migraine, tension-type headache, and several different types of chronic headache disorders. Cost-effective in Germany and UK (Coeytaux 2016 – Brief review of selected SRs and MAs)(2)
Acupuncture can reduce workplace headache pain intensity, frequency and related disability; low quality evidence (Lardon 2016 – SR of 15 RCTs)(3)
Effective for frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches; Moderate or low quality evidence (Linde 2016 – Cochrane SR of 12 RCTs)(4)
Acupuncture has been included in the NICE guidelines for headache since 2012(5)
References
1. Kim SY, Lee H, Chae Y, Park HJ, Lee H. A systematic review of cost-effectiveness analyses alongside randomised controlled trials of acupuncture. Acupunct Med. 2012 Dec;30(4):273-85.
2. Coeytaux RR, Befus D. Role of Acupuncture in the Treatment or Prevention of Migraine, Tension-Type Headache, or Chronic Headache Disorders. Headache. 2016 Jul;56(7):1238-40.
3. Lardon A, Girard MP, Zaim C, Lemeunier N, Descarreaux M, Marchand AA. Effectiveness of preventive and treatment interventions for primary headaches in the workplace: A systematic review of the literature. Cephalalgia. 2016 Mar 2.
4. Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Fei Y, Mehring M, Shin BC, et al. Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;4:Cd007587.
5. National Institute for Health Care and Excellence. Management of migraine (with or without aura): NICE guideline CG150. In: National Institute for Health Care and Excellence, editor. 2012 (updated 2015).