The Study Of Acupuncture With Specific Acupoints In Shaoyang Meridian For Treating Migraine Attacks

Objective:To investigate the clinical difference of manually stimulating specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridian, manually penetrating or with electropuncture treatment on non-acupoints for treating migraine attacks.Methods:A total of90migraineurs during attacks were randomly assigned into three arms. Group A received treatment of specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridian. Group B received treatment of manually penetrating non-acupoints. Group C received treatment of electropuncture treatment on non-acupoints. All non-acupoints were mainly on the limbs. All participants received one session acupuncture treatment. The primary outcome was the proportion of responders, which was defined as the proportion of participants with a pain relief of visual analog scale (VAS) scores by at least50%.The secondary outcomes were the VAS scores, pain intensity and accompanying symptoms scores during attacks at baseline and0.5,1,2, and4hours after treatment.Results:(1) The demographic and baseline parameters showed that the3groups were comparable at baseline (P>0.05)(2) For proprotion of responders, significant differences were found intergroups. Group A was better than the other two groups (P<0.05)(3) For visual analog scale scores, there was a decline tendency for all3groups. At hour1, the VAS score of group C was higher than the other two groups with a significant difference (P<0.05)(4) For pain intensity, there were no significant differences among the3groups at different time points (P>0.05) (5) For accompanying symptoms scores during attacks, there was no significant difference among the3groups at different time points (P>0.05).But for the difference changes from baseline, group A was significantly better than the other two groups at hour1(P<0.05)(6) For the evaluation of acupuncture sensation, the numb sensation score of group C was lower than the other2groups with a significant difference (P<0.05).In the other sensation evaluation like sour, full there was no significant difference among the3groups at different time points (P>0.05)(7) For24hours of headache relief and recurrence, there was no significant difference among the3groups at different time points (P>0.05)Conclusions:(1) The preliminary results showed that stimulating specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridian might relieve the headache better and improve the accompanying symptoms during attacks.(2) The preliminary clinical results of stimulating non-acupoints with electropuncture treatment was not better than stimulating specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridian manually, so the analgesic effect of electropuncture treatment may be based on the theory of acupoint specificity.(3) The preliminary results showed that it was safe to stimulate specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridian for migraine attacks for whom were willing to receive.