Anesthesia and Analgesia, a very reputable journal for Anesthesiologists, has published an interesting study on Acupuncture for management of chronic headache. (Anesth Analg.2008 Dec;107(6):2038-47) The approach they take is to survey 31 studies on the topic and combine their results. This is a dicey approach, and could be easily attacked by critics, but given that large scale studies on acupuncture are quite expensive this may be the best we can do for now. Keep in mind that most medical studies published are funded by industry groups at this point, and there are no industry deep pockets for acupuncture.
1)They found that the response rate for acupuncture was significantly higher compared with sham acupuncture at early and late follow up for headache patients.
2) Acupuncture was superior to medication therapy for headache intensity, headache frequency, physical function, and response rate.
Over all conclusion--> Needling acupuncture is superior to sham acupuncture and medication therapy in improving headache instensity, frequency, and response rate.
I will follow up soon with a recent report on medication use and migraine.
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