Comparison of the Prophylactic Effect Between Acupuncture and Acupressure on Menstrual Migraine

Summary

This study is designed to make comparisons between acupuncture and acupressure for preventing menstrual migraine (MM). Whether acupuncture is superior to acupressure is the most interesting point of this study. First of all, females will be screened for eligibility. Then, all participants who meet the inclusion criteria will be asked to keep a headache migraine diary for three months as baseline data. The diaries will then be collected before the first treatment. Then, all the participants will receive the corresponding interventions on the eighth, fifth and second days before the estimated first day of menstruation (determined individually from the diaries) in each month for three months (menstrual cycle), making a total of nine treatment sessions. After the whole treatments, there will be a three-month follow-up period. All the participants will be asked to complete the headache diaries every month from baseline to the end of the study. The diaries recording data from the fourth to the ninth month will then be collected at the end of the ninth month for the second time indicating the end of the study for the participants. In case of an acute migraine attack, participants will not be restricted from using "normal" medications.

Conditions

• Menstrual Migraine

Interventions

PROCEDURE

verum acupuncture

Participants will receive real needle insertion. Sterile needles will be used on all acupoints. The depth of insertion will vary from 15 mm to 20 mm depending on the exact locations. An initial manual stimulation will be given at insertion by rotation methods to produce a specific sensation described as "de-qi" in TCM. Then the needles will be left in the acupoint for 20 min, with a manual rotation at 4-8 Hz and an amplitude of approximately 0.5-2 rotations at a ten-min interval to maintain the sensation of "de-qi". Primary acupoints used in the verum acupuncture group will be: LR3 (Taichong), LI4 (Hegu), SP6 (Sanyinjiao), GB20 (Fengchi). Extra acupoints will be selected based on TCM pattern are GB41 (Zulinqi), SP10 (Xuehai), KI3 (Taixi), or LR2 (Xingjian).

PROCEDURE

acupressure

The acupoints and the number of the sessions will be exactly the same as for the verum acupuncture group. Acupressure will be applied on all the corresponding acupoints described in the acupuncture group. Finger pressure will be applied to each acupoint for eight seconds followed by two-seconds rest, repeated for 3 min. The strength of the pressure depends on individual participant's sensation of "de-qi". Duration of each session will be 15 min.

PROCEDURE

control acupuncture

The number, duration, and frequency of the sessions will be the same as for the verum acupuncture group. Sterile needles will be used on acupoints that have no therapeutic effect on either menstruation or migraines, based on the acupuncture text books and acupuncture research literature. The points chosen will be: LR7 (Xiguan), GB35 (Yangjiao), LI12 (Zhouliao), M-BW-1 (Dingchuan). The depth of needle insertion will be as superficial as 3 mm, and without manual rotation, in order to minimize stimulation of the needle.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Western University, Canada

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Alan W Salmoni, PhD · Western University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-11-30

Primary Completion

2016-08-31

Completion

2016-08-31