Acupuncture for headache

Abstract

Acupuncture is being increasingly used as one of the most important non-pharmacological therapies in treatment of chronic pain. Chronic headache, especially migraine and tension headache are diseases frequently encountered. In their treatment acupuncture is a method with very few side effects and is a remarkable alternative or addition in the whole concept of treatment. Open and placebo-controlled studies have shown that acupuncture reduces the frequency and intensity of headache in many patients, as well as the use of drugs. The success rates achieved of about 50-85% are comparable to the results of other methods. In the case of migraine, especially good results are archived by prophylactic treatment with acupuncture during the pain-free period. The concept of treatment depends on the basic rules of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Selection of the acupuncture points is primarily determined by the pain site. Long-term success could be confirmed by follow-up examinations six to eighteen months after end of the therapy.