Chronic headaches and Acupuncture

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The below may be of interest:

Acupuncture beats aspirin

WASHINGTON - ACUPUNCTURE works better than drugs like aspirin to

reduce the severity and frequency of chronic headaches, US

researchers reported on Monday.

A review of studies involving nearly 4,000 patients with migraine,

tension headache and other forms of chronic headache showed that that

62 per cent of the acupuncture patients reported headache relief

compared to 45 per cent of people taking medications, the team at

Duke University found.

'Acupuncture is becoming a favorable option for a variety of

purposes, ranging from enhancing fertility to decreasing post-

operative pain, because people experience significantly fewer side

effects and it can be less expensive than other options,' Dr Tong Joo

Gan, who led the study, said in a statement.

'This analysis reinforces that acupuncture also is a successful

source of relief from chronic headaches.'

Writing in Anesthesia and Analgesia, they said 53 per cent of

patients given true acupuncture were helped, compared to 45 per cent

receiving sham therapy involving needles inserted in non-medical

positions.

'One of the barriers to treatment with acupuncture is getting people

to understand that while needles are used, it is not a painful

experience,' Dr Gan said. 'It is a method for releasing your body's

own natural painkillers.'

They found it took on average five to six visits for patients to

report headache relief.

Other studies have shown that acupuncture helped alleviate pain in

patients who had surgery for head and neck cancer, can relieve hot

flashes and other menopausal symptoms and can reduce chemotherapy-

induced nausea. -- REUTERS

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Carruthers

Wakefield, UK