Acupuncture for Headaches & Migraines

Migraines are more than bad headaches. They can bring throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound, and they can take whole days away from you. Frequent tension-type headaches, the "tight band" kind, can be just as draining. Many people find that medication gives incomplete relief or brings side effects, so they look for something to add.

What the research says

Migraine. A 2016 Cochrane review of 22 trials found that adding acupuncture to usual care reduced how often migraines occurred. In the few trials that compared them directly, acupuncture worked about as well as preventive medication, with fewer side effects reported.¹ A 2017 randomized trial in JAMA Internal Medicine found people receiving acupuncture had fewer migraine days than those receiving sham acupuncture, and the benefit lasted through 24 weeks of follow-up.²

Tension-type headache. A separate 2016 Cochrane review concluded that acupuncture is likely effective for people with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches, who probably have fewer headaches three to four months after starting treatment.³

Acupuncture is used to prevent headaches, so the goal is fewer and milder episodes over time. It is not usually an instant fix for a migraine that is already under way.

What treatment at Wongu involves

A detailed first visit. Your practitioner will ask where your headaches sit, how often they come, and what they feel like. They'll also ask about triggers such as sleep, stress, hormones, food, screens, and dehydration, which matters in the Las Vegas heat. Neck and shoulder tension and digestion are part of the picture too. A tongue and pulse assessment helps identify your pattern from a Chinese medicine perspective.

Points near and far from the head. Treatment often uses points on the head, neck, and shoulders, plus distant points on the hands and feet. Patients are often surprised that one of the most commonly used headache points, LI-4 (Hegu), sits between the thumb and index finger.

Supporting care. Your practitioner may add cupping on the upper back and neck to ease muscle tension, or suggest a custom herbal formula to support treatment between visits.

A headache diary helps. Tracking how often your headaches come, how bad they are, and what medication you take before and during treatment gives you and your practitioner a clear picture of whether it is working.

How many sessions?

Because the goal is prevention, headache care is usually a course of treatment rather than a single visit. Clinical trials have typically used weekly or more frequent sessions over several weeks. Many patients begin weekly and space visits out as headaches become less frequent. Some then return for occasional maintenance visits. Your practitioner will review your progress with you along the way.

Keep working with your doctor

Acupuncture can be used alongside your current migraine or headache care. Please don't change or stop any prescribed medication without talking to your physician. If acupuncture reduces your headaches, your doctor can decide whether to adjust your medication.

Intern or licensed OMD?

We treat headaches and migraines in both our supervised student clinic and with our licensed OMDs. Both include a full evaluation and treatment, and a licensed OMD supervises every intern session.

Headache and migraine questions

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