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A SHAM version of acupuncture works just as well for treating migraine headaches as the real thing, and both fake and real acupuncture work better than no treatment at all, a new study has found.

German researchers divided 302 migraine sufferers into three groups, the first receiving real acupuncture, the second fake and the third were told to wait for treatment. By this measure, real acupuncture succeeded with 51 per cent, and the sham procedure succeeded with 53 per cent, a statistically insignificant difference.

Only 15 per cent of the waiting list group attained the 50 per cent reduction in headache days. The effectiveness of both the sham and the real acupuncture is about the same as treatment with drugs and has fewer side effects. The results, they conclude, "may be due to non-specific physiological effects of needling, to a powerful placebo effect, or to a combination of both."

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A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Acupuncture... Acupuncture Eases Tension Headache Pain Copyright 2005 Daily News Central The ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture has proven to be an effective treatment for tension headache. It not only relieves pain, but also cuts rates of recurrence by almost half, a recent study indicates. Traditional Chinese acupuncture therapy involves insertion of needles up to 3 inches deep into the body at prescribed acupuncture points, according to licensed acupuncturist Rong Zeng of the New York Good Health Clinic in Manhattan. However, a new, randomized blind study in Germany involving 270 patients with a similar severity of tension headache has shown that a minimal course of acupuncture works almost as well as the traditional method. Fewer Headaches After Treatment Researchers divided the patients into three groups. Over an eight-week period, one group was treated with traditional acupuncture, another received minimal acupuncture (needles inserted only superficially into the skin at non-acupuncture points), and the control group had neither treatment. The subjects were monitored for four weeks after their period of treatment. Those who had received traditional acupuncture care subsequently experienced seven fewer headaches. The group that had been given minimal acupuncture therapy had surprisingly similar results -- 6.6 fewer headaches. The control group did not fare as well, with only 1.5 fewer headaches. Improvements in headache rates continued for months after the acupuncture treatment, though they began to rise slightly as time went on. Results Subject to Interpretation Such a negligable difference in results between traditional and minimal acupuncture treatments possibly indicates that the location of acupuncture points and depth of needle insertion do not make a major difference...