Schmerz. 1996 Jun; 10(3): 149-55.

[Acupuncture in headache therapy]

Weinschütz T.

Klinik für Neurologie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Niemannsweg 147, D-24105 Kiel.

Acupuncture is now being increasingly used in the treatment of headache. Acupuncture is a technique originating in Asia, from countries that have a cultural background with a fundamentally different concept of disease and therapy. Up to now, sustained application of acupuncture in Western medicine has been impeded by the lack of a scientifically convincing explanation of the mechanisms of action in terms of neurobiological criteria. Acupuncture is being used empirically in the treatment of migraine; clinical studies have been published. A definitive evaluation of acupuncture based on well-founded clinical experimental studies has yet to be made. The investigation was carried out in migraine patients who were divided into two subgroups in a control group design with two different stimulation techniques. The verum group was treated with the correct point location, normal prick depth and elicitation of a needle sensation. The control group received treatment at points that are far away from the acupuncture points, using a superficial prick technique and without eliciting a needle sensation. The effect of therapy was appraised by means of headache diaries with subsequent interference statistical and individual case analysis. In the present study comprising 81 patients, the incidence of the attacks was significantly reduced in both subgroups. The effect of acupuncture treatment was of comparable magnitude to that of the beta-blocker metoprolol. The advantage of acupuncture treatment consists in the lack of side effects such as gastrointestinal symptoms or an increase in weight. A minor side effect was only reported in one case. In the data analysis with the interference statistical method, verum acupuncture was superior to the control in only one subgroup. The possibility that the addition of further points (distant points) can explain this effect on the basis of the hypothesis of a central modulation of the migraine process is discussed. Acupuncture shows a sufficiently pronounced and sustained therapeutic effect for its use to be considered in a possible interval treatment of migraine.