Can electroacupuncture help medication overuse headache?
Part of Brain & nervous system clinical trials.
This study tests whether electroacupuncture (a type of acupuncture with mild electrical pulses) can help people who have headaches very often because they use pain relievers too much. If you join, you will receive either real or sham (placebo) electroacupuncture, and your headaches and quality of life will be tracked for several months.
Summary written for real people, not researchers, by Clin2.
Who can take part
- You have had headaches for at least 12 months, currently have 15 or more headache days per month, and you use pain relievers on 10 or more days per month.
- You have tried to stop or cut back on your pain relievers before but it didn't work (for example, headaches didn't get better or you had bad withdrawal symptoms).
- You are between 18 and 80 years old.
- You have not used other headache prevention medications (like certain beta-blockers, antidepressants, or anti-seizure drugs) in the past month, or received acupuncture or nerve blocks in the past 8 weeks.
- You are willing to keep an electronic headache diary daily for a few weeks, and you do not have serious untreated mental health conditions or a history of substance abuse.
Quick eligibility check
Answer a few plain-language questions, based on this study's own requirements, to get a preliminary sense of fit.
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