sex, duration of migraine disorder, and headache frequency.
Patients were blinded for the treatment. None of the patients
have received acupuncture treatment prior to the study.
Demographic and clinical data of the patients are shown in
Table 1.
Treatment was performed by a licensed acupuncturist
according to the standard literature for acupuncture treatment
of headache34 and with a long experience in Traditional
Chinese Medicine and a history of practicing acupuncture
methodology in China. All patients received one acupuncture
session each week over a period of 8 weeks.
Acupuncture was performed by inserting fine stainlesssteel
needles (35mmท 0.30 mm, sterilized and single use,
Product of Seirin Ltd., Europe). Patients were lying down
during the acupuncture procedure.
VA was performed in a standardized sequence during the
same period of time, needling the same points bilaterally into
described areas of the skin (basic acupuncture points) with
normal needle depth (6–10 needles). Acupuncture was based
on an expert consensus process for acupuncture treatment
(German Association of Medical Practitioners for Acupuncture)
using a state-of-the art acupuncture protocol. For
detailed information about the anatomic localization of the
acupuncture points,35 see Table 2. After insertion of the
needles, they were manually rotated to achieve a needle
sensation (de qi sensation). All needles were then kept in their
locations for 30 minutes