The efficacy of
acupressure in relieving
pain has been documented; however, its effectiveness for
chronic headache compared to the muscle relaxant medication has not yet been elucidated. To address this, a randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted in a medical center in Southern Taiwan in 2003. Twenty-eight patients suffering
chronic headache were randomly assigned to the
acupressure group (n = 14) or the muscle relaxant medication group (n = 14). Outcome measures regarding self-appraised
pain scores (measured on a visual analogue scale; VAS) and ratings of how
headaches affected life quality were recorded at baseline, 1 month
after treatment, and at a 6-month follow-up.
Pain areas were recorded in order to establish trigger points. Results showed that mean scores on the VAS at post-treatment assessment were significantly lower in the
acupressure group (32.9+/-26.0) than in the muscle relaxant medication group (55.7+/-28.7) (p = 0.047). The superiority of
acupressure over muscle relaxant medication remained at 6-month follow-up assessments (p = 0.002). The quality of life ratings related to
headache showed similar differences between the two groups in the post treatment and at six-month assessments. Trigger points BL2, GV20, GB20, TH21, and GB5 were used most commonly for etiological assessment. In conclusion, our study suggests that 1 month of
acupressure treatment is more effective in reducing
chronic headache than 1 month of muscle relaxant treatment, and that the effect remains 6 months
after treatment. Trigger points help demonstrate the treatment technique recommended if a larger-scale study is conducted in the future.