Acupuncture helps in tension headaches

Traditional acupuncture and sham acupuncture, involving superficial insertion at non-acupuncture points, are both more effective in reducing the frequency of tension headaches than no treatment at all. Researchers from the Technische University at Munchen found that acupuncture is widely used for treating tension-type headache. But its effectiveness remains controversial. To investigate researchers recruited 270 patients who experienced tension headaches at least 8 days every month. Experienced physicians performed acupuncture and sham treatment on them during twelve 30-minute sessions over 8 weeks. Traditional acupuncture was conducted on 132 subjects and delivered to basic points using manual stimulation. Minimal acupuncture or sham acupuncture was conducted in 63 patients at distant non-acupuncture points, avoiding deep insertion of needles. Seventy-five patients were assigned to a wait list. From the start of the study to week 9 through 12, the number of days with headache decreased by 7.2 days in the acupuncture group, 6.6 days in the minimal acupuncture group and 1.5 days in the waiting list group. The proportion of responders, defined as those experiencing a 50-percent reduction or more in headache days, was 46 percent in the acupuncture group, 35 percent in the minimal acupuncture group and 4 percent in the wait-list group. Point location and other aspects considered relevant for traditional Chinese acupuncture did not make a major difference in patient response. The effects of traditional and minimal acupuncture were clinically relevant and comparable to those of accepted treatments for tension-type headache. However, the observed improvements may reflect particularly potent placebo effects.