2013 Volume 76 Issue 3 Pages 200-206
Objective: This study was conducted to analyze the effects of acupuncture regarding prevention of migraine attacks based on the measurements of headache days, and tenderness and muscle tightness in the neck and shoulder muscles and in the masticatory muscles, and to evaluate the relationship between them.
Methods: The subjects were 70 patients (22 men and 48 women) who satisfied the diagnostic criteria of migraine according to The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition. The mean age was 35.5±14.3 years (mean±S.D.). Thirteen patients had migraine with aura and 57 had migraine without aura.
Acupuncture was performed for 2 month; the number of days with a moderate or severe headache as well as tenderness and muscle tightness of the neck, shoulder and masticatory muscles, were assessed before and after acupuncture treatment. In addition, the relationship between the decrease in the number of headache days and improvement in tenderness and muscle tightness was analyzed.
Results: Acupuncture reduced the number of days with a moderate or severe headache (p<0.05) and improved tenderness and muscle tightness (p<0.01). Also, a positive correlation was noted between the decrease in the number of headache days and improvement of neck, shoulder and masticatory muscle tenderness; the correlation with the improvement of neck tenderness was the strongest.
Discussion and Conclusion: When acupuncture was performed continuously for a certain period, the number of headache days decreased, and tenderness and tightness in the neck, shoulder and masticatory muscles improved, demonstrating the efficacy of acupuncture. The results suggest that acupuncture prevents the attacks by relieving muscle tightness. The mechanism by which acupuncture would prevent migraine attacks can be its effect on higher brain centers via the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve through the upper cervical plexus and trigeminal nerve as the afferent pathways.
