Summary:
Tension-type headache (TTH) is a common headache disorder causing mild-to-moderate pain and reduced quality of life. Treatments include analgesics, preventive medications, physical therapy, relaxation, and complementary approaches such as acupuncture. This meta-analysis reviewed six randomized controlled trials with 927 adults comparing manual acupuncture (the traditional form of acupuncture used in clinical practice) to sham acupuncture (a placebo control). Interventions included 6-20 sessions of 20-30 minutes each. Outcomes measured were headache frequency, intensity, analgesic use, and headache relief. Manual acupuncture significantly reduced headache frequency and increased the odds of headache relief compared to sham. Greater benefits were seen with treatment lasting over one month or more than 10 sessions. These results indicate that acupuncture is effective for TTH, especially with longer or repeated treatment sessions, and can be considered a complementary therapy to standard care.
Abstract:
Background: Tension-type headache (TTH) is a common primary headache disorder characterized by bilateral, non-pulsating, mild-to-moderate pressing or tightening pain. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of acupuncture for TTH using meta-analysis. Methods: We adhered to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to conduct this research. A systematic search of multiple electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, was conducted, covering all literature from their inception to August 2024. The articles investigating the efficacy of acupuncture for patients with TTH were included. Meta-analyses were used to pooled the effect size using RevMan 5.4. Results: A total of six randomized controlled trials (including 927 patients) were included. The results revealed the acupuncture group showing significant decrease in headache frequency at 6 weeks post-treatment (standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.43 to −0.03; p = 0.03), while the acupuncture group had higher odds of headache relief when compared with the sham-acupuncture group (odds ratio (OR) = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.34 to 2.57; p < 0.001). In subgroup analysis, acupuncture showed significant decrease in pain level compared to sham-acupuncture when patients received more than one month or 10 treatment sessions (SMD = −0.32; 95% CI: −0.56 to −0.09; p = 0.006). Conclusions: Our results suggest that acupuncture could be effective for TTH when the treatment period extends beyond one month or includes more than 10 sessions
Article Publication Date: 12/12/2025
DOI: 10.22514/jofph.2025.067
