2022 Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics
A 6-week course of acupuncture proves as effective as 6-month drug prophylaxis for migraines, with specific Chinese point selection and stimulation appearing less important.
Acupuncture for Headache & Migraine
Headache and migraines are very common and debilitating, yet many people remain undiagnosed or untreated until their symptoms become unbearable.
Apart from commonly experienced tension, migraine and sinus headaches, there are also many medical conditions that cause headache which can make diagnosing and treating the underlying cause a challenging task.
A sudden onset and severe headache with fever or sore neck may be a sign of meningitis which requires immediate medical diagnosis and treatment.
What is our clinical experience?
Based on feedback collected from over 1,342 initial appointments for Headache & Migraine, 78% of our surveyed patients reported improved quality of life after their first 4 appointments. See our detailed benchmarking statistics.
InitialConsults
1,342
AverageAppointments
4
ImprovedQuality of Life
78%
Refer Family &Friends
90%
What does the research say?
The following insights are obtained from systematic reviews and analysis of clinical trials investigating the efficacy of Chinese medicine and acupuncture for headache & migraine.
Summary of Recent Research
Recent research from Australia and internationally highlights the effectiveness of Chinese medicine, particularly acupuncture, in treating headaches and migraines. A 2022 review in the Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics found a 6-week course of acupuncture to be as effective as 6 months of drug prophylaxis for migraines, suggesting that specific point selection and stimulation depth are less critical than previously thought. Additionally, a 2022 randomised controlled trial in Neurology demonstrated that true acupuncture significantly reduces the frequency of chronic tension-type headaches over eight weeks, offering a safe and effective treatment alternative.
Further support for acupuncture is evident in its comparability to pharmacological treatments, with a 2021 trial in Frontiers in Neurology showing similar efficacy in migraine prevention, but with improved patient compliance and fewer adverse events. These findings are consistent with earlier systematic reviews, such as those published in Neurology and Therapy (2020) and Pain Research & Management (2020), which confirm acupuncture's safety and effectiveness in reducing headache frequency and severity. Collectively, this body of research advocates for the integration of acupuncture into standard migraine management protocols, providing a well-tolerated and efficacious treatment option for migraine sufferers.
2021 Frontiers in Neurology
Acupuncture could be as effective as pharmacological drugs for migraine prevention, with improved patient compliance and fewer adverse events.
2020 Pain Research & Management
Acupuncture reduced more headache days and the times of using painkiller and was more effective in reducing the frequency and degree of headache than western medicine and sham acupuncture.
2019 Pain Research & Management
Acupuncture has the advantage for acute and preventive treatment of migraine in pain improvement and safety.
2019 Headache
There is growing evidence that acupuncture is just as effective and has fewer side effects than many of the standard pharmaceutical agents that are currently used.
2016 Neural Regeneration Research
A 14-session course of needling at Fengchi is relatively safe for treating posterior circulation ischemia with vertigo.
Seek personalised healthcare and advice
Although well-conducted clinical research can help members of the public to make better-informed decisions about their healthcare, we cannot claim that any particular treatment may be effective for any individual person.
When you consult with our Chinese medicine practitioners, you’ll receive personalised advice and treatment based on your symptoms and Chinese medicine diagnosis.
Research papers
Browse our collection of scientific clinical research on acupuncture for headache & migraine.
It includes recent and reputable papers published by peer-reviewed journals within the last 10 years.
2022, Sept
Role of acupuncture in the treatment of migraine
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics
The review suggests that acupuncture should be integrated into existing migraine therapy protocols.
Endres HG, Diener HC, Molsberger A Full Article
2021, Jan 15
A Randomized Clinical Trial on Acupuncture Versus Best Medical Therapy in Episodic Migraine Prophylaxis: The ACUMIGRAN Study
Frontiers in Neurology
Our trial is the first one comparing acupuncture with the more appropriate pharmacological treatment for migraine prophylaxis. Data suggested that acupuncture could be adopted as migraine prophylaxis and seem to be slightly superior to pharmacological treatment in compliance and rate of adverse events.
Giannini G, Favoni V, Merli E, Nicodemo M, Torelli P, Matrà A, Giovanardi CM, Cortelli P, Pierangeli G, Cevoli S Full Article
2020, Mar 23
Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Migraine: An Overview of Systematic Reviews
Pain Research & Management
We found high quality of evidence indicated that the effective rate of acupuncture was superior to western medicine in treatment of migraine. Besides, acupuncture reduced more headache days and the times of using painkiller and was more effective in reducing the frequency and degree of headache than western medicine and sham acupuncture. Based on high quality of evidence, we concluded that acupuncture may be an effective and safe therapy for migraine.
Li YX, Xiao XL, Zhong DL, Luo LJ, Yang H, Zhou J, He MX, Shi LH, Li J, Zheng H, Jin RJ Full Article
2019, Oct 29
An Overview of Systematic Reviews of Randomized Controlled Trials on Acupuncture Treating Migraine
Pain Research & Management
We found that acupuncture on treating migraine has the advantage for pain improvement and safety, but the quality of SR/MAs of acupuncture for migraine remains to be improved.
Xia-tian Zhang, Xin-yi Li, Chen Zhao, Ye-yin Hu, Yi-yi Lin, He-qing Chen, Zhao-feng Shi, Xiao-yu Zhang, Hong-cai Shang, Gui-hua Tian Full Article
2019, Dec 24
Systematic Review: Acupuncture vs Standard Pharmacological Therapy for Migraine Prevention
Headache American Headache Society
This systematic review of randomised controlled trials articles showed that acupuncture is just as effective for treating migraine. It also has fewer side effects than many of the standard modern pharmaceutical agents. Patients also reported to use less pharmacological drugs after treatments.
Niushen Zhang, Tim Houle, Nada Hindiyeh, & Sheena K. Aurora Full Article
2016, Sept 6
Safety of different acupuncture manipulations for posterior circulation ischemia with vertigo
Neural Regeneration Research
Our results indicate that a 14-session course of needling at Fengchi is relatively safe for treating posterior circulation ischemia with vertigo.
Wen Y, Zhang C, Zhao Xf, Deng Sz, He S, Huang Lh, Tian G, Meng Zh Full Article
It is by virtue of the twelve channels that human life exists, that disease arises, that human beings can be treated and illness cured. The twelve channels are where beginners start and masters end.