Migraines & Electro-acupuncture

muffy — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:37:55 +0000

abstracted & translated by

Honora Lee Wolfe, Lic. Ac., FNAAOM (USA)

Keywords: Chinese medicine, acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, migraine headache

On page 90 of issue #1, 2005 of the Shi Yong Zhong Yi Nei Ke Za Zhi (Journal of Practical Chinese Medical Internal Medicine), Guo Yu published an article titled, “Clinical Observations on the Treatment of 50 Cases of Migraine Headache with Electro-acupuncture.” A summary of this study is presented below.

Cohort description:

All 50 migraineurs in this study were seen and treated at the Shen Yang Municipal Chinese Medicine Hospital in Liaoning province. Among these 50 patients, there were 21 males and 29 females aged 13-51 years, with a median age of 28.1 ” 4.8 years. In 15 cases, migraine headache was a new occurrence, while in 35 cases, migraines had been a recurrent condition. These 50 patients were randomly divided into two groups, a treatment group and a comparison group. In the treatment group, the youngest patient was 13 and the oldest was 50, while in the comparison group the age ranged went from 16 to 51.

Treatment method:

All members of the treatment group received acupuncture at the following points:

Tai Yang (M-HN-9)

Shuai Gu (GB

Shen Men (Ht 7)

Lie Que (Lu 7)

Feng Chi (GB 20)

Yang Ling Quan (GB 34)

If there was phlegm turbidity obstruction and stagnation, Feng Long (St 40) was added. After obtaining the qi via twisting and turning needle manipulation, these points were stimulated with electro-acupuncture using a G-6805 electro-acupuncture machine with dense wave and as strong a stimulation as the patient could bear.

All members of the comparison group were orally administered 1mg of ergotamine per day. This dose was able to be increased but did not exceed 6mg per day. Seven days of treatment equaled one course for both groups, and results were analyzed after two such courses.

Study outcomes:

Remission was defined as complete disappearance of headaches with no recurrence within six months. Marked effect was defined as complete disappearance of pain. However, there was a recurrence within six months. Some effect was defined as a decrease in pain which was now bearable. No effect meant that none of these foregoing criteria was met. The following table shows the outcomes based on these definitions.

Group	No.	Remission	Marked effect	Some effect	No effect	Total effect	Marked effect
Treatment	26	13	6	5	2	92.3%	73.1%
Compar.	24	5	4	10	5	79%	38%

This table shows that the electro-acupuncture protocol was significantly more effective than the ergotamine. The P-value for the difference between the total marked effectiveness of these two treatments was published as (P + 0.005). Further, the 18 cases in the treatment group whose pain completely disappeared got this therapeutic effect with only one course of treatment.

Discussion:

Tai Yang, Shuai Gu, and Feng Chi are all local points on the affected area, the head. Dr. Guo deems them all essential points for the treatment of migraine. Tai Chong is a liver channel transport point homing to or affecting both the external and internal branches of this channel. It’s effect is to calm or level the liver. Shen Men’s effect is to quiet the spirit, while Lie Que’s is an essential point for the treatment of diseases of the head and face in general.

Golden Needle Practitioner Library » Migraines & Electro-acupuncture

Migraines & Electro-acupuncture