Acupuncture effective in treating symptoms of chronic tension-type headache
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An 8-week course of true acupuncture reduced the monthly number of headache days in patients with chronic tension-type headache, with treatment effects lasting for 32 weeks, according to a study published in Neurology.
“Tension-type headache is one of the most prevalent primary headaches, characterized as dull, bilateral, mild-to-moderate pain,” Hui Zheng, MD, PhD, of the Third Hospital/Acupuncture and Tuina School at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Acupuncture decreased the number of headache days in patients with tension-type headache without causing any serious adverse events. However, several clinical questions remain unanswered in previous studies.”
Zheng and fellow researchers sought to determine the efficacy of acupuncture for chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) by conducting a randomized, controlled trial of 218 individuals (mean age, 43.1 years) with CTTH. Participants were randomized to receive either 20 sessions of true acupuncture (TA) over 8 weeks, with each session lasting 30 minutes and achieving deqi sensation at each acupuncture site, or superficial acupuncture (SA), a sham control that avoided deqi sensation at each site.
The main outcome was responder rate at 16 weeks following randomization, with subsequent follow-up at week 32. Researchers defined a responder as a participant who reported at least a 50% reduction in the monthly number of headache days.
According to study results, the responder rate was 68.2% in the TA group (n = 110) compared with 48.1% in the SA group (n = 108) at week 16 (OR = 2.65; 95% CI, 1.5-4.77). At week 32, the responder rate was 68.2% in the TA group compared with 50% in the SA group (OR = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.36-4.3).
Further, there was a reduction in monthly headache days of 13.1 ± 9.8 days in the TA group compared with 8.8 ± 9.6 days in the SA group at week 16 (mean difference, 4.3 days; 95% CI, 2-6.5). At week 32, the reduction was 14 ± 10.5 days in the TA group compared with 9.5 ± 9.3 days in the SA group (mean difference, 4.5 days; 95% CI, 2.1-6.8).
Three mild adverse events were reported in the TA group compared with one in the SA group, the researchers reported.
“Acupuncture was efficacious in the prophylaxis of CTTH, and the effect lasted for at least 8 months,” Zheng and colleagues wrote. “However, the longer-term effectiveness of acupuncture and the comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness between acupuncture and other treatment options still needs to be clarified.”