Tag: acupuncture and migraine
Acupuncture for Migraine: Clinical Case Study and HRV
This data is a follow up on this post. As it turns out, this patient has had good results. His migraines, though still happening (of course) are less intense and much less frequent. He is very encouraged, and in spite of an incredibly busy work schedule, pressure, travel etc… is determined to keep coming. This…
Read MoreHRV Monitoring Protocol: Clinical Case Study Migraine
(This is probably too technical for general interest, but for any other researchers out there, maybe of interest.) I seem to have reached an impasse in the research. What I’m looking for is a shorthand method of using heart rate variability monitoring (HRV) or stress monitoring in conjunction with acupuncture treatment in the clinic….
Read MoreHRV, Acupuncture and Migraineurs
Backer_MigraineHRV_2007 I am posting this older article so that I can link to it on an upcoming handout for the UCSF presentation on Wednesday November 26th. Interestingly, what they see is that LF decreases over time in the verum acupuncture group. Acupuncture in migraine: investigation of autonomic effects Bäcker M, Grossman P, Schneider J, Michalsen…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Migraine: A difficult case and HRV
Migraine is such a miserable condition, I don’t understand how migraine patients manage as well as they do. The case here is a woman who is 47 and developed migraines after the birth of her child at age 45. The migraines have become almost intractable and she not only is on propranolol and other preventatives…
Read MoreMigraine and Brain Regions
The reason I’m citing this article is that acupuncture acts on the limbic system. Migraine, preceded by cortical spreading depression, shows increased connectivity in the limbic/viscerosensory network. This may give rationale for acupuncture’s effectiveness in some migraine cases. Cephalalgia. 2013 Nov;33(15):1264-8. doi: 10.1177/0333102413490344. Epub 2013 May 29. The missing link: enhanced functional connectivity between amygdala…
Read MoreBrain Specificity of Acupoints for Migraine
I like this study because it uses an actual “patient” group (people with an ailment) rather than healthy volunteers. And also because it shows a difference not only in the subjects reduction in pain, but actually different metabolic pain profiles in the targeted acupuncture therapy versus the acupuncture points not targeted for migraine. Helps to…
Read MoreAcupuncture Reduces Number and Severity of Migraines in Migraineurs
Super interesting study showing that “real” acupuncture in migraineurs, given weekly for 8 weeks, not only reduced the number of headache days and intensity, but also blunted the autonomic response to Valsalva challenge. Placebo acupuncture did not. This validates my hunch that some of acupuncture’s effectiveness is due to the autonomic relaxation response. I…
Read MoreTale of Two Articles: Migraine and the Gut
Consider the article yesterday in the SF Chronicle “UCSF doctors see colic-migraine link.”And an elaborate study out of China looking at different acupuncture treatment approaches for migraine prophylaxis. Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis: a randomized controlled trial (full text at link.)What is of interest between the two? The UCSF study finds that mothers with migraines are…
Read MoreAcupuncture Vs Topamax for Chronic Migraine Prophylaxis
Cephalalgia. 2011 Nov;31(15):1510-21. Epub 2011 Oct 21.Acupuncture versus topiramate in chronic migraine prophylaxis: A randomized clinical trial.Yang CP, Chang MH, Liu PE, Li TC, Hsieh CL, Hwang KL, Chang HH.Source Kuang Tien General Hospital, Taiwan.Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of acupuncture compared with topiramate treatment in…
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