There is new hope for migraine sufferers, as new research reveals acupuncture can be more effective than drugs for easing the painful condition. Taking the form of recurrent attacks, migraines typically last between 4 and 72 hours, with pain of moderate to severe intensity.
Characterised by a series of unpleasant symptoms, migraine sufferers can experience a unilateral pain location, a strong pulsating sensation, moderate to very severe pain levels and the intensification of these indicators with everyday physical activity. Many also experience the additional discomforts of photophobia, visual disturbances, nausea and vomiting. Anyone can experience a migraine, yet women are far more likely to; around 20% of women suffer from the debilitating headaches, compared to just 6% of men.
Yet there is hope for people suffering the misery of migraines. A new study showed acupuncture can be more effective than drugs at treating the condition. Scientists at the Women’s Headache Centre in Turin administered acupuncture to 160 women, and discovered that the number of attacks they experienced was significantly reduced, as was their need for painkilling medication.
The study gave 80 migraine sufferers acupuncture once a week for two months, then once monthly for a further four months. In each treatment session, the needles were placed in the same positions and left in for 20 minutes. The remaining 80 women were given a daily dose of flunarizine, a traditional line of migraine management, for two months, then 20 tablets per month over the next four.
While both groups experienced fewer attacks overall, those treated with acupuncture had fewer than those treated solely with the traditionally prescribed migraine management drugs; acupuncture patients averaged 2.3 migraine instances, compared with 2.9 in the flunarizine group.
Lowering the painful symptoms and reducing the need for harmful drugs, acupuncture can be an effective migraine treatment and is set to transform the lives of the six million migraine sufferers in Britain today.
The fine needles operate by relaxing the nervous system of central pain routes, whilst releasing endorphins, your natural feel-good chemicals. They also moderate serotonin, thought to be linked to the onset of migraine attacks, modulate blood flow and reduce inflammation.