Acupuncture for Migraines

Several systematic reviews and controlled trials have reported encouraging findings for acupuncture in migraine prevention.

1. A 2016 Cochrane systematic review examined 22 randomised trials involving 4,985 people with episodic migraine. Adding acupuncture to usual care was associated with a greater reduction in headache frequency than usual care alone. The review also found a small benefit for genuine acupuncture over sham acupuncture and suggested that acupuncture may achieve results comparable to preventive medication for some patients. However, evidence concerning outcomes beyond one year was limited.
   
   
2. A 2020 multicentre randomised clinical trial published in the BMJ studied 150 people with episodic migraine without aura. Participants received manual acupuncture, non-penetrating sham acupuncture or usual care. During follow-up, those who received manual acupuncture experienced greater reductions in migraine days and migraine attacks than participants in the sham and usual-care groups. No serious treatment-related adverse events were reported.
   
   
3. A 2024 systematic review and network meta-analysis evaluated 34 studies involving 3,365 people with migraine. The combined findings associated acupuncture-related therapies with reductions in pain scores, attack frequency, attack duration and migraine days compared with medication. However, the researchers identified considerable variation between the included studies, migraine types and acupuncture methods, meaning the results should be interpreted cautiously.

Taken together, the available evidence suggests that acupuncture may be a worthwhile preventive option for people seeking additional support with recurring migraines. The potential benefit appears to relate mainly to reducing migraine frequency, migraine days and the overall impact of attacks.

Results differ between individuals, and further high-quality research is needed to determine which approaches provide the most consistent and lasting benefits.