Acupuncture can help Prevent Migraines

Acupuncture can help prevent migraines, according to the authors of a systematic review. Their network meta-analysis included 40 randomised controlled trials, covering over 4400 participants, and compared the effectiveness of various acupuncture techniques with three prophylactic drugs and psychotherapy.

Acupuncture was found to be more effective than prophylactic drugs in reducing pain scores, frequency of attacks, and number of headache days during treatment and at 12-week follow-up.

(Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Prophylactic Treatment of Migraine: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis. Advanced Biology, 6 July 2023.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.