New Scientific Evidences on Acupuncture in Treating Migraines

David Foster June 15, 2011

Take it from the experts- people who suffer from migraine are more prone to other health problems. A study was conducted by a group of researchers from Harvard Medical School in identifying the real cause of migraines. Researchers have found out the relationship between migraine and three stretches of DNA by studying 23,000 patients. They also pointed out that women are likely to suffer from migraine than men.

This alarming situation is said to affect 1 out of 8 people. The World Health Organization has also listed migraine to be the top 20 most disabling lifetime conditions. This condition is sadly costing the UK economy of approximately 2 Billion pounds.

One of the effects of migraine is blood clotting. Studies pointed out that this is so because people with migraine tend to cope with the pain by smoking and other forms of vices. They are likely to get overweight as well and have less physical activities.

Coping with Pain through Acupuncture

For over 2000 years now, acupuncture has been a popular method of treating chronic pain. Cancer patients are also being treated with acupuncture to deal with pain brought about by their ailments. The use of this famous alternative treatment has a very positive effect to migraine. Even before, many sufferers of migraine have been using acupuncture and surprisingly, it helps.

One of the best reasons why many opt for such treatment is because it has less if no side effects at all. The treatment deals with root cause of the pain rather than curing the symptoms. However, the treatment must be practised only by professional acupuncturists because there can be adverse effects to patients if needles are misplaced and incorrectly inserted. Medical science does not discourage the use of acupuncture but warns the people to seek for help of the expert therapist alone.

Scientific Evidences of Acupuncture to Treat Migraine

A study published in the British Medical Journal was the first study to provide extensive explanation and discussions on the effect of acupuncture in treating migraines. And other kinds of chronic head ache. In the study, most of the 401 adult patients of migraine and severe headaches were given 12 sessions of acupuncture. It was shown that those who were treated with the needles have 22 fewer days of headache in one year and they used less medication and less visits to their doctors as compared to those who have not undergone acupuncture.

The concept of acupuncture is to treat, using needles, and the tension points in the body that obstructs blood flow and unleashes energy. Acupuncture helps in balancing the level of serotonin in a patient’s body. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for ensuring blood flow in the blood vessels in the brain, relieving pain caused by migraine.

As an alternative treatment, it is not surprising to know that only little studies were made to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating migraines. Despite these situations, anecdotal evidences that can be traced thousands of years back have made acupuncture as a potential treatment for migraine and related painful diseases.