The Immediate Effects of Electro-Acupuncture on Headache in Migraine Patients
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Abstract
This study was a single-blind randomized controlled trial aiming to investigate immediate effect of electro-acupuncture on the pain score of headaches in migraine patients when having a migraine attack. The participants were 46 migraine patients, randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups – 23 persons each. The experimental group was treated with electro-acupuncture for 30 min, while the control group had traditional or regular acupuncture also for 30 min. In all participants, the pain score of headaches were measured, using a visual analog pain scale (VAS), immediately before and after treatment. The results showed that both groups had significant differences in migraine pain score before and after treatment (P < 0.01), and the mean migraine VAS score of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P = 0.006). It was concluded that both 30-minute electro-acupuncture and regular acupuncture could reduce migraine pain; and electro-acupuncture could relieve the pain better than regular acupuncture. Thus, electro-acupuncture is an alternative treatment for migraine patients during a migraine attack.
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