Acupuncture reduces Menstrual Migraine

Acupuncture reduces menstrual migraine. This is one of the findings from last weeks Channel 4 documentary ‘How to Beat Pain’ featuring 9 volunteers who are chronic pain sufferers. Amongst a range of measures including yoga, cold water swimming and lifestyle changes the investigators tested acupuncture and Tai Chi.  Specifically, they discovered that acupuncture reduced the pre-menstrual chronic migraines that one of the participants was suffering from.  Interestingly cold water swimming also proved effective for migraine, though acupuncture feels like a gentler option for most of us.

Non-medication solutions to pain are especially pertinent following the recently published draft of NICE guidelines on chronic pain.  These recommend that sufferers avoid painkillers and try other options such as acupuncture.  This may be at odds with current medical recommendations for managing migraine. These include taking pain medication early in a migraine attack in order to reduce it’s severity.  Using acupuncture as a preventative measure may provide a solution here.  Keeping the body in balance, with energy flowing freely and stress levels kept low will help minimise recurrence of attacks.  Acupuncture is also known to regulate hormone balance, and this may play a specific role in the finding that acupuncture reduces menstrual migraine.

For more information on benefits of acupuncture for women’s health, hormone balance and pain conditions see our Acupuncture Research page.

Here’s the documentary…

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/how-to-beat/on-demand/70184-003