| Results of recent clinical trials have shown that | | | | body, or Qi (chee), can become unbalanced. By placing |
| acupuncture can be extremely good for combating | | | | needles at the specific places where the energy lines |
| headaches. Increasingly, people are looking for | | | | appear near to the skins surface, the Qi may be |
| alternative therapies. While most are still happy to take | | | | rebalanced, healing the patient. |
| pills prescribed by their doctor, there is a growing | | | | Although acupuncture has been healing people for |
| problem with the conventional treatment of headaches. | | | | such a long time, it is only recently that its |
| The problem with conventional medicine. | | | | effectiveness for treating headaches has been studied |
| The truth is that conventional medications are just not | | | | in depth. |
| that great at treating headaches. Some are known to | | | | Does it work? |
| work well for migraine headaches and others can be | | | | The British Medical Journal published a study of |
| effective for tension headaches. The biggest problem | | | | sufferers in the UK who often lost time off work due |
| with these medications is that they can change a | | | | to their headaches. It showed that after these people |
| migraine into a Chronic Daily Headache - or CDH, | | | | had received acupuncture for three months, they took |
| which is much harder to treat. | | | | less sick days. Another study done at the University of |
| CDH is on the increase. The current definition of CDH | | | | North Carolina showed that sufferers of CDH found |
| is one that happens on 15 or more days out of a | | | | definite improvements in their headaches. |
| month. It is ironic that a medication developed to treat | | | | Hidden benefits. |
| one kind of headache, seems to cause the | | | | Two studies in Germany threw up an interesting result. |
| development of another kind. It's this dilemma that has | | | | Acupuncture did help tension and migraine headaches |
| prompted both Doctors and patients to look for | | | | - compared to those sufferers who had no |
| alternative therapies. | | | | acupuncture. But there was no particular difference in |
| Many kinds of headaches are known to have triggers, | | | | results between 'real' acupuncture and placebo |
| such as lack of sleep and some kinds of foods. Often, | | | | acupuncture - where needles were only just inserted |
| the headache sufferer can avoid these triggers - but it | | | | and into areas not known to have any benefit. So |
| is not always possible. So if medications are ultimately | | | | were the good results due to suggestion or was the |
| counter-productive and triggers are sometimes | | | | fake acupuncture tapping into some true but not |
| unavoidable, what can be done? | | | | understood benefit? |
| Taking a look at acupuncture. | | | | Whatever the reasons for the results, acupuncture |
| Acupuncture has been a form of therapy in China and | | | | seems to be a non-harmful method of headache |
| other Eastern civilizations for over 5,000 years. | | | | treatment, with no side effects. The study results |
| It works by the insertion of very fine needles into | | | | were good enough to convince The National Heath |
| particular points of the body. They are then left there | | | | Service in Britain. As a result of the findings, many GP |
| for a few moments or sometimes even hours. | | | | Practices in the UK now offer it acupuncture an |
| Oriental medicine believes that the energy force of the | | | | alternative therapy. |