According to the American Migraine Foundation, about 1 in 4 U.S. households includes someone living with migraine.
How Acupuncture Helps with Migraines
Acupuncture can ease pain during an attack. With regular maintenance visits, many patients find their headaches and migraines become less frequent and less severe.
What the Research Says
A 2021 meta-analysis in the Journal of Neurology (Fan et al.) pooled 20 randomized trials with 3,380 people and found that acupuncture helped more people reach a meaningful drop in migraine attacks than sham (placebo) acupuncture or preventive medication. People receiving acupuncture also had fewer side effects than those taking preventive medication. In plain terms: for many people, acupuncture is a reasonable, well-tolerated way to help prevent migraines. The authors note that more large, high-quality trials are still needed, so results vary from person to person.