Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Physiotherapy on Myogenic Headache: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Twenty-two tension-neck and headache patients were divided into acupuncture and physiotherapy groups. The quantity of muscle tension (motor unit potential spikes per time unit) was estimated three times before the beginning of the therapy, four times during a therapy period of four weeks, and two times during the follow-up period of 28 weeks. Pain level was also estimated using a visual analogue scale. In both of the groups a signi ficant reduction of muscle tension was observed during the therapy period. After a follow-up period of 28 weeks, there was still a significant reduction of EMG activity in both groups. Also, the subjective level of headache decreased in these groups during the therapy period, and it was also significantly lowered after 28 weeks of follow-up. It is concluded that either acupuncture therapy or physiotherapy relieves pain in tension-neck and head ache patients. KEYWORDS:headache, tension-neck, acupuncture, physiotherapy, motor unit potential (MUP) spikes, skin temperature, EMG activity, pain 141 142 E. AHONEN et al.

Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache

“…This update includes 12 trials described in 22 publications (including published protocols and papers reporting additional aspects such as treatment details or cost-effectiveness analyses) (Ahonen 1984; Carlsson 1990; Endres 2007; Jena 2008; Karst 2001; Kwak 2007 Melchart 2005; Söderberg 2006; Tavola 1992; White 1996; White 2000; Wylie 1997). …”

“…Five were multicentre trials (Endres 2007; Jena 2008; Melchart 2005; Söderberg 2006; White 2000); the remaining seven were performed in a single centre. Four trials originated from Germany (Endres 2007; Jena 2008; Karst 2001; Melchart 2005), three from the UK (White 1996; White 2000; Wylie 1997), two from Sweden (Carlsson 1990; Söderberg 2006), and one each from Finland (Ahonen 1984), Italy (Tavola 1992), and Korea (Kwak 2007). Two trials included only participants with episodic tension-type headache (White 1996; White 2000), and three only participants with chronic tension-type headache (Carlsson 1990; Kwak 2007; Söderberg 2006).…”

“…Two trials included only participants with episodic tension-type headache (White 1996; White 2000), and three only participants with chronic tension-type headache (Carlsson 1990; Kwak 2007; Söderberg 2006). The remaining trials either explicitly stated that they included both forms (Endres 2007; Jena 2008; Karst 2001; Melchart 2005), or made no clear statement (Ahonen 1984; Tavola 1992; Wylie 1997). …”

“…We received some additional information for a further three trials (Carlsson 1990; Söderberg 2006; Wylie 1997). In two trials, additional information was not needed (White 1996; White 2000), and for two older trials, we were unable to contact the study authors (Ahonen 1984; Tavola 1992). The first author of the new trial did not respond to inquiries (Kwak 2007).…”

Acupuncture in Primary Headache Disorders; Review of the Evidence

“…Acupuncture was compared to other treatments like physiotherapy, relaxation or combination of relaxation and massage in four trials [45,[64][65][66]. Two studies found significant reduction in headache days in the non-acupuncture arm [65,66] (massage and physiotherapy) while others showed insignificant benefits or a small trend favouring acupuncture There were number of methodological uncertainties found in most of these trials that could potentially affects the reliability of results [64,45].…”