Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Patients and health care professional alike diligently search for any treatments that are effective for Migraines. Researchers have been looking at acupuncture for several years. Italian and Brazilian trials have shown acupuncture to be more effective than sham for Migraine prevention, but other tria...
that's really interesting, Teri. I have seen references to the effects of acupuncture being either minor or not there at all in several studies and sometimes I wonder… I've used acupuncture on and off for 30 years for my rheumatoid arthritis and it's worked wonders for me. When I was 13, I was more or less full time in a rehab hospital. I'd go home on the weekends in a wheelchair and my mother would take me to acupuncture treatment on Monday morning before going back. Every Monday morning, I walked back into the unit. Despite this, the doctors and nurses continued to pooh-pooh the treatment. Then and in the three decades since then, acupuncture didn't cure anything, but regular treatments have consistently helped me in terms of pain control, reduction of symptoms, etc. I use it as part of my toolbox in addition to things like rest, medication, etc.
Hi Lene!
As acupuncture has helped your RA significantly, it is a miracle worker for my fibromyalgia. Though, I get it for my Migraines and it does not seem to make a huge difference. I still do it though because I would rather have a potential benefit than nothing at all. I have also had instances where acupucture has triggered a Migraine. I get trigger-point acupuncture which is different from the types in this study, where the needles are inserted where the pain is located. Of course, I didn't read up on these types of acupuncture, so perhaps they are like trigger-point.
Teri, would you be able to share what hte article described as "sham" acupuncture (the placebo)? It just makes me wonder if the placebo acupuncture could be a form of acupuncture that helps too? Just wondering.
Thanks for sharing this article!
Kelly,
Here's the description from the journal article cited:
"Acupuncture was applied unilaterally, alternating between the left and right sides. The goal was to elicit a de qi sensation (a range of sensations typically generated by the insertion of a needle into an acupuncture point and the manipulation of the needle) in the three acupuncture groups but not in the sham-acupuncture group."
I think what they did in the sham group was insert needles, but not into the acupuncture points.
Teri
Thanks for clarifying that for me, Teri!
Hugs
Kelly