Does acupuncture help headaches and migraines?

In this blog article we will answer the question of “Does acupuncture help headaches and migraines. We will look at the current research to answer that question and we will discuss the acupuncture points that are effective for these conditions.

Before we start:


Headaches are usually nothing serious but in rare cases they can potentially be caused by the following:

So once these are ruled out then headaches are categorised as follows:

Cluster headache,
Migraine,
Tension-type headache,
Medication overuse headache,

Firstly, Cluster headaches:

A Cluster headache is an excruciating attack of pain in one side of the head, and eye.

There is minimal evidence for using acupuncture on cluster headaches but this study by Fofi et al (2014) found that acupuncture did find short term relief in the cluster headache.

Next, Tension-type headache:

This is the most common type of headache and feels like a constant ache that often affects both sides of the head. It is also common to feel neck muscle tension and pressure behind the eyes.

As you would expect from the most common type of headache there is lots of research into this area and overall it appears that acupuncture does help.

In a study by Linde et al (2016) they found that acupuncture was effective for treating frequent episodic or chronic tension headaches.

Another study found that 10 sessions of acupuncture over 5–8 weeks was best for the prophylactic treatment of chronic tension-type headaches (Carville et al 2012).

Santesso et al (2017) looked at 7 studies with a total of 795 people and they concluded that, in general, people who have frequent tension-type headaches will probably have slightly fewer headaches at 3-4 months after beginning a course of acupuncture. Specifically, people will probably have fewer ‘headache days’ per month, and probably more people will have half as many headaches.

Next up Migraines:

A migraine is usually a moderate or severe headache felt as a throbbing pain on one side of the head. It can also have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and increased sensitivity to light or sound.

There are several types of migraine, including:

Migraine with aura – where there are specific warning signs just before the migraine begins, such as seeing flashing lights or visual disturbance.

Migraine without aura – the most common type, where the migraine occurs without the specific warning signs.

Migraine aura without headache, AKA: silent migraine – where an aura or other migraine symptoms are experienced, but no headache.

So as with tension headaches, there too, is plenty of research into acupuncture for migraines, and once again the evidence is positive.

This Cochrane review found that adding acupuncture to symptomatic treatment of migraine attacks reduces the frequency of headaches (Linde et al 2016).

Li et al (2009) found that acupuncture is clearly effective in relieving pain & preventing migraine relapse or aggravation.

Also this study concluded that current clinical evidence suggests that verum acupuncture is superior to sham acupuncture in migraine (Yang et al 2016).

Finally, Medication overuse headache:

These headaches are frequent or daily headaches that develop after taking painkillers for tension headaches or migraines over a long period of time.
Treatment is basically, withdrawal of the overused drugs, pharmacological and nonpharmacological support and prevention of relapse. So in this case acupuncture isn’t really used to cure this type of headache but can be used to help to prevent it. Basically acupuncture can be used to manage the headache that the drugs were used for in the first place. (Kristoffersen & Lundqvist 2014).

So what are the best acupuncture points to use?

Cluster headache:

In a review by Fofi et al (2014) they found studies typically had 6 sessions given at least once per week and most studies left the needles in place for 20-30 minutes.

Here is an example of common points for acupuncture in this type of headache:
Ex HN-5, GB 14, GB 20, LI 4, LR 2, SP 6, ST 36.

Tension-type headache:
In a Cochrane review by Linde et al (2016) they found that it was typical to have 6 treatment sessions given at least once per week.

Here is an example of common points for acupuncture in this type of headache:
GB20, GB14, LI4, ST44, PC6, PC7, SP6, GB34, ST8, EX1 and EX2

Migraine:

In a Cochrane review by Linde et al (2016) they found that the number of treatment sessions in the studies reviewed was between six and 12 in 13 trials and 16 or more in 9 trials. Most studies left the needles in place for between 20 and 30 minutes.

Here are some commonly used points for Migraines:
BL 2, BL10, BL 60, GB 3, GB 20, GV 11, GV 20, LR 3, CV 13 EX1, ST 8

References:

Carville, Serena, et al. "Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults: summary of NICE guidance." Bmj 345 (2012): e5765.

Fofi, L., et al. "Acupuncture in cluster headache: four cases and review of the literature." Neurological Sciences 35.1 (2014): 195-198.

Kristoffersen, Espen Saxhaug, and Christofer Lundqvist. "Medication-overuse headache: epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment." Therapeutic advances in drug safety 5.2 (2014): 87-99.

Li, Ying, et al. "Acupuncture for treating acute attacks of migraine: a randomized controlled trial." Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 49.6 (2009): 805-816.

Linde, Klaus, et al. "Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine." The Cochrane Library (2016).

Linde, Klaus, et al. "Acupuncture for the prevention of tension‐type headache." The Cochrane Library (2016).

Santesso, Nancy, and L. Susan Wieland. "A summary of a Cochrane review: Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache." European journal of integrative medicine 8.4 (2016): 324.

Yang, Yan, et al. "Verum versus sham manual acupuncture for migraine: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials." Acupuncture in Medicine (2015): acupmed-2015.

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