Here is a selection of research on the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating headaches.
In a 2005 randomized trial, Linde et al studied the effects of acupuncture, sham acupuncture and a control on 302 patients with migraine headaches. The study found the acupuncture and sham acupuncture produced a greater reduction in moderate to severe headaches.
A study by Hansen & Hansen in 1985 showed that classical Chinese acupuncture was more effective than the sham acupuncture placebo in relieving headaches.
A study by Vincent in 1989 found that acupuncture was more effective than the sham acupuncture placebo in treating chronic migraine headaches.
A systematic review by Melchart et al in 2001 included, among others, 16 trials comparing acupuncture to sham acupuncture. The review found that true acupuncture was reported to be significantly superior to sham acupuncture.
A 2004 systematic review conducted by Dr. Trinh of McMaster University showed strong evidence to support the treatment of lateral epicondyle pain with acupuncture. The systematic review included 6 high quality studies. All studies showed that acupuncture provided relief for lateral epicondyle pain. Five of the six studies showed that acupuncture was more effective than the control.
These days the average person that has tennis elbow doesn’t even play tennis. What used to be a term reserved for athletes can now be achieved by painting too many coats of paint on your wall, typing on your computer, and other non grand slam activities. If you are feeling pain in your outer elbow that gets worse with pressure or use (typing, stretching, holding or gripping), then you may have tennis elbow even if you don’t know what 30 love means.
Tennis elbow or lateral epicondilytis refers to pain on the outside of the elbow. The syndrome is typically a tendinitis or overuse injury whereby the insertion of the the wrist extensor muscles (the muscles that bring the back of your hand towards your body) becomes inflamed. Typically the inflammation leads to the formation of fascial scar tissue which attempts to heal and strengthen the injured area, but instead often ends up forming a thick inflexible mass that glues the injured tendon to the surrounding tendons. When these tendons become stuck together movement of the wrist becomes painful.
There are other factors related to tennis elbow. The term tennis elbow originated from the frequency of this injury among tennis players. As you can imagine, in tennis a backhand puts a lot of stress on the wrist extensors which can become fatigued easily. It is the constant repetitive use of muscles that tires the muscles to the point that they become inflamed. Tennis elbow is quite common for office workers because of the use of the computer and the the continuous strain that typing puts on the wrist extensor muscles.
Often in tennis elbow injuries, there is also the presence of a nerve impingement called thoracic outlet syndrome. With the nerve supply for the wrist extensor muscles being decreased, the health of the muscle deteriorates to the point that it becomes more susceptible to injury from something as simple as typing. This is why it’s important when treating tennis elbow to also look for the presence of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Research has shown that tennis elbow can be healed through regular massage, fascial release, stretching and acupuncture.
A 1997 study conducted by the University of Manchester appeared in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice Volume 39, Issue 2, February 1998, Pages 115-121.
The study followed 46 diabetic patients with chronic painful peripheral neuropathy and studied the long term effects of acupuncture. 63% of the patients were already following the standard medical treatment for painful neuropathy. Patients received 6 treatments of acupuncture over 10 weeks. By the end of the study, 77% showed significant improvement in their symptoms. After the study, the patients were followed for another year, during which 67% were able to stop or reduce their medications significantly. 21% noted that their symptoms had cleared completely.
My favourite method of treating is becoming the combination massage & acupuncture session. From what I have seen, it gives a better chance of success for relieving chronic or acute pain and also gives a more pain free, comfortable release compared to massage therapy alone.
In a typical combination Acupuncture & Massage session, I do a half hour acupuncture treatment followed by a half hour massage. There are some real benefits to this such as:
An Easier, Gentler Treatment Experience. This sounds counter-intuitive. How can poking somebody with needles be gentler than massaging? I start with acupuncture because it does a great job of setting the tone for the treatment. The acupuncture treatment triggers a chain reaction that releases endorphins, analgesics and anti inflammatories into the problem areas. After the needles are out, typically the client is more relaxed, the pain is lessened, the inflammation is reduced and the muscles have decreased spasm. At this point, the client will not feel as much pain and discomfort from the massage. After the needles have done the bulk of the work lessening the acuteness of the pain, the massage can be gentler focusing on flushing out toxins and stretching the muscles back to their normal length.
The client benefits from each technique’s unique strengths. There is no one approach or technique that does all for all people. Massage is excellent for increasing circulation to an area. Stretching techniques are great for returning short muscles back to their normal length. Fascial techniques are perfect for getting rid of fascial restrictions or scar tissue. Reflexive neurological techniques are wonderful for releasing stubborn muscle spasms. And acupuncture is great at reducing inflammation, speeding up the healing process, decreasing pain and working deep muscles that are difficult to access. Through a combined approach, the client has the best chance of achieving health.
Acupuncture decreases inflammation. When a client is in acute pain there is usually some inflammation in the area. The inflammatory response releases neuro transmitter chemicals which heighten any pain response. This means that the painful area can be tricked into feeling extreme pain from even a light touch, which makes it difficult with massage to get at the root of the problem until later treatments. Acupuncture, on the other hand, goes deep directly to the problem area and starts reducing the inflammation right away allowing the massage treatment more freedom in targeting the problem areas.
The combination approach allows me the freedom to give the most effective treatment that I can. I have found a few different approaches that are absolutely ideal for treating certain conditions. For example, in acute pain between shoulder blades caused by rhomboid muscle spasm, a 3 minute application of reflexive stretching techniques can resolve most of the acute pain almost immediately. Likewise, directed acupuncture techniques can often cause an immediate decrease in acute pain in certain types of SI joint dysfunction.
Acupuncture can induce profound relaxation and stress relief. I have found that more people fall asleep on my table during acupuncture sessions vs massage sessions. Acupuncture initiates a strong release of endorphins in most people causing deep relaxation and stess relief. There are specific points I can target for stress relief sessions that bring about a very peaceful feeling and sets the stage perfectly for the massage session.
Affordable. The price of a 1 hour treatment of combined acupuncture & massage is $80 including GST. The average for Toronto for those services separately is around $110. As an RMT, I can bill any modality or treatment that falls under my scope of practice as “massage”. Typically I bill combination treatments as massage therapy, which can be helpful for people that have extended health benefits for massage but not acupupuncture. This practise is endorsed by the CMTO and insurance companies.
Since becoming a massage therapist, I have quickly found the limits my body can go before it needs help. The work is tiring and physically demanding and burns out many RMT’s by the 5 year mark. This is why I religiously follow a program of postural awareness, stretching exercises, epsom salt baths, weight training and most important of all: yoga. Yoga has done wonders for helping me maintain my core strength and flexibility and decreasing lower back pain. I plan on writing more on these topics in the near future, but for now I’d like to give props to my yoga teacher, Julia. She can be found on her website: http://www.yoga-vibe.com/
