Acupuncture demonstrated a prolonged positive impact on temporomandibular joint symptoms in tension-type headache patients, though its effectiveness was hindered by significant dental issues.
The study was carried out as a secondary analysis of a randomized, non-blinded trial at a German university hospital. Ninety-six patients who were suffering from frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches were enlisted and randomized into four treatment groups. Over a period of six weeks, the participants were subjected to either acupuncture, therapeutic exercise, a combination of the two, or opted for the usual care. These treatments were evaluated by a subjective measure of temporomandibular dysfunction symptoms using the Functional Questionnaire Masticatory Organ. The effectiveness of the interventions was analyzed over three and six months, taking into account the sum score from the questionnaire and the results from an initial dental examination.
In the discussions of the results, it was found that temporomandibular dysfunction symptoms improved in all the study groups at the three-month follow-up. However, at the expiration of six months, only those that received acupuncture had a significant improvement in their symptoms compared to the usual care group. It was also observed that the presence of significant dental issues could reduce the effectiveness of acupuncture for tension-type headaches. Despite these symptoms, it was concluded that they did not have a considerable influence on the overall headache treatment.
