Tension headaches eased by therapy without drugs

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Several types of nonpharmacologic treatment, including physical exercise, relaxation training, and acupuncture can provide long-lasting improvements for patients with chronic tension-type headaches, physical therapists in Sweden report.

Because the frequent use of pain medications can lead to chronic headaches, it is important that analgesics are discontinued as a first step in treating tension headaches, Dr. Elisabeth Soderberg and her associates report in the current issue of the journal Cephalalgia.

The research team, at Sahlgrenska Academy, Goteborg University, designed a study in which 90 patients, who had chronic tension-type headaches for an average of 7 years, were randomly assigned to physical training, relaxation training, or acupuncture. Chronic tension-type headache was defined as headache occurring at least 15 days per month for at least 6 months.

The trial began with a 4-week pretreatment period, during which time the subjects used diaries to document headache characteristics. They also kept diaries in the 4 weeks immediately after the training sessions and again 3 and 6 months after treatment.

Acupuncture was administered at recommended sites using 10 to 12 needles during 30-minute weekly sessions for 10 to 12 weeks.

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FOOD INTOLERANCE-TESTING TIMES

The largest ever study into food intolerance has been carried out across the UK.
The organisation- Allergy UK- carried out a survey on more than 5000 people reporting a wide range of chronic medical conditions. Many of them, said the organisation can be helped following a simple blood test and then the subsequent correct diet plan.

It's estimated forty five percent of the UK population suffers from some kind of food intolerance. For many it has little or negligible effect that people simply don't notice, but according to experts chronic sufferers have a tough time.

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Osteoarthritis Patients Treated with Acupuncture Show Significant Improvement

Magazine editorial encourages wider use for chronic pain conditions

October 30, 2006 – A large study of over 3500 osteoarthritis patients has found that those with chronic pain of the knee or the hip, who were treated with acupuncture in addition to routine care, showed significant improvements in symptoms and quality of life compared with patients who received routine care alone. And, the benefits continued after treatment. The report in Arthritis & Rheumatism also has an editorial that says this evidence proves acupuncture should get extensive use in various chronic pain conditions.

Osteoarthritis (OA) has a major impact on patients' mobility and quality of life but the anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat it are associated with a number of side effects, according to the artivle.

In recent years, patients have turned increasingly to acupuncture to relieve the chronic pain associated with OA. This new study examined the use of acupuncture as an extension of routine medical care and whether the effects of treatment last after therapy is discontinued.

Led by Claudia M. Witt of the University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany, researchers conducted a randomized, controlled trial of a large number of patients with chronic pain due to OA of the knee or hip. Between July 2001 and July 2004, a total of 3,553 patients were divided into three groups: 322 immediately received up to 15 sessions of acupuncture in the initial three month period; 310 controls received no acupuncture for the first three months; and 2,921 (those who did not consent to randomization) received the same treatment as the acupuncture group.

Each patient was followed for a total of six months and the control group received acupuncture during the last three months of their study period. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and a health-related quality of life survey (Short Form 36) were used to measure outcomes when the study began and at three and six months.

"Patients with chronic pain due to OA of the knee or the hip who were treated with acupuncture in addition to routine care showed significant improvements in symptoms and quality of life compared with patients who received routine care alone," the authors state.

This was true for both the randomized and the non-randomized groups. Furthermore, patients in the control group who received acupuncture only after three months showed similar improvements at six months. In addition, WOMAC and SF-36 scores at six months were only slightly lower than at three months for those receiving acupuncture right away.

Although the study was not a blind trial, its design was chosen to reflect general medical practice. It was one of the largest randomized trials of acupuncture to date and based in part on the results, the German Federal Committee of Physicians and Health Insurers is considering a proposal that acupuncture will be reimbursed by state health insurance funds. If approved, it will probably be provided as a routine medical option in treating OA.

The authors conclude that "the present results show that, in patients with chronic pain due to OA of the knee or hip who were receiving routine primary care, addition of acupuncture to the treatment regimen resulted in a clinically relevant and persistent benefit."

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Acupuncture relieves symptoms of fibromyalgia

A Mayo Clinic study found that acupuncture reduces the symptoms of fibromyalgia.Fibromyalgia is a disorder considered disabling by many, and is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms such as fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep disturbance. No cure is known and available treatments are only partially effective.The study involved 50 fibromyalgia patients enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial to determine if acupuncture improved their symptoms. Symptoms of patients who received acupuncture significantly improved compared with the control group.The study is published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings." The results of the study convince me there is something more than the placebo effect to acupuncture, " says David Martin, lead author of the acupuncture article and a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. " It affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients."

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