Revealing the Neural Mechanism Underlying the Effects of Acupuncture on Migraine: A Systematic Review
Liu L, Tian T, Li X, Wang Y, Xu T, Ni X, Li X, He Z, Gao S, Sun M, Liang F, Zhao L · Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2021 May 20
DOI 10.3389/fnins.2021.674852
Objective
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by attacks of moderate or severe headache and various neurological symptoms. Pharmacological therapies show limited efficacy in relieving headache and are often accompanied by adverse effects, while the benefits of acupuncture, a non-pharmacological therapy, have been well-documented in both the treatment and prevention of acute migraine attacks. However, the underlying mechanism of the effect of acupuncture on relieving migraine remains unclear. To pave the way for future research, this review provides an overview neuroimaging studies on the use of acupuncture for migraine in the last 10 years.
Conclusions
The neural mechanism underlying the immediate effect of acupuncture analgesia remains unclear, and the neural mechanism of sustained acupuncture treatment for migraine might be related to the regulation of pain-related brain networks. Multi-center neuroimaging studies are needed to provide a better insight into the neural mechanism underlying the effect of acupuncture on migraine.
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Related insights
- A 6-week course of acupuncture proves as effective as 6-month drug prophylaxis for migraines, with specific Chinese point selection and stimulation appearing less important.
- Acupuncture could be as effective as pharmacological drugs for migraine prevention, with improved patient compliance and fewer adverse events.
- Acupuncture has the advantage for acute and preventive treatment of migraine in pain improvement and safety.
- True acupuncture over an eight-week period is effective for reducing the frequency of chronic tension-type headache.
- Ginger, through various methods, exhibits promising pain reduction effects for conditions such as dysmenorrhea, muscle soreness, osteoarthritis, low back pain, and migraines.
- Acupuncture reduced more headache days and the times of using painkiller and was more effective in reducing the frequency and degree of headache than western medicine and sham acupuncture.
- In many studies, acupuncture has been shown to be a safe, efficacious and readily available alternative therapy which may be beneficial to certain migraine patients.
- The results of this meta-analysis showed that acupuncture is more effective and safer than medication for migraine.
