Migraine & Headaches
Acupuncture for Migraines & Headaches in Denver
Acupuncture can be used both for migraine and tension-type headaches, although these are different disorders.
Migraine is a neurological condition involving altered sensory and pain processing and may cause throbbing pain, nausea and sensitivity to light or sound. Tension-type headache is more commonly experienced as pressure or tightness and may involve tenderness in the neck, scalp and jaw.
Prognosis
For people with recurring headaches, the most important question is not simply whether today's headache disappears—it is whether headache days become less frequent and less disabling over time.
What Does the Research Say?
Acupuncture is well studied for headache prevention. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) in its headache clinical digest lists evidence that compared to placebo treatments, acupuncture reduces migraine frequency and as well as for for tension-type headache.
Recent systematic reviews continue to find reductions in migraine attacks, migraine days and duration with acupuncture. A 2024 meta-analysis concluded that acupuncture was effective for migraine prevention and identified a treatment course of roughly 1½–2 months in the included evidence. An individual-patient meta-analysis encompassing 39 trials and 20,827 patients found acupuncture effective for several chronic pain conditions, including migraine, with effects that persisted after treatment ended. Cochrane evidence has found acupuncture superior to no acupuncture, slightly superior to sham, and approximately comparable to preventive medication for migraine.
Research on tension-type headache also supports acupuncture as a preventive treatment, with some evidence that benefits can continue for months after a course of care ends.
Typical Course of Care
We generally begin with weekly treatment for approximately 6–8 visits, occasionally more frequently for severe or very frequent headaches.
Track:
Headache days per month
Migraine days
Intensity
Duration
Rescue-medication use
A fall in headache frequency is often a more meaningful measure than whether one particular headache disappears immediately.
Acupuncture and Other Treatment
Acupuncture can be used alongside migraine medications rather than replacing them.
Preventive drugs, CGRP medications, triptans and other rescue medications may be appropriate depending on the type and frequency of headache. Sleep, hydration, exercise, jaw or neck treatment and trigger management can also be important.
A sudden “worst headache of your life,” headache with new neurological symptoms, confusion, high fever or marked neck stiffness requires urgent medical evaluation.
Schedule an evaluation online at Backupuncture of Denver (950 S. Cherry St, Ste 1675, Denver, CO 80246) or by calling 720.370.2711 for recurring migraines or headaches.