Acupuncture cuts headache rate

• German researchers tested acupuncture on 270 adults with tension headaches.
• Others got "minimal" acupuncture, with needles placed superficially at nonacupuncture points.
• A third group went on a wait list for acupuncture.
• Both acupuncture groups had similar drops in headaches, with benefits lasting months after treatment stopped.
• The two methods may have been equally effective, or perhaps patients' high hopes played a role, write the researchers in BMJ Online First.
• Acupuncture has been a staple of traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
• More recently, it's drawn attention from Western patients, doctors, and researchers.
• In traditional acupuncture, needles are placed in specific spots for different conditions.
• The goal is to unblock or rebalance the flow of qi (pronounced "chee").
• Chinese medicine holds that qi is a type of energy that flows along pathways called meridians in the body.
• Lots of people wanted to sign up for this study.
• They took only a tenth of that number.
• They were around 43 years old, on average.
• Some had tension headaches more than 15 days per month; others had headaches less often.
• Both acupuncture groups got 16 half-hour sessions over 12 weeks.
• The wait-listed group got acupuncture three months after the other patients.
• Some patients still had headache benefits during that time, even though they weren't getting acupuncture any more.
• They included Wolfgang Weidenhammer of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research in Munich, Germany.
• When the wait-listed patients finally got acupuncture, they also had fewer headaches than before.
• The researchers aren't sure if the results were due to acupuncture or to the patient's "high expectations."
• The patients weren't told which type of acupuncture treatment they were getting.
• The most common side effects were headache or other pain, dizziness, and bruising.