ACUPUNCTURE helps to cure chronic headaches and is as cost-effective as other treatments offered by the NHS, according to research.

A first study to test acupuncture under real conditions compared 161 patients given acupuncture to treat migraine or tension headaches with 140 treated conventionally. It was carried out in a dozen GP practices in England and Wales, and 85 per cent of the patients were women.

The results, published today on BMJ online, show that those given acupuncture did better than those treated conventionally. They suffered, on average, 22 fewer days of headache a year, took 15 per cent fewer days off work, used 15 per cent fewer drugs and made 25 per cent fewer visits to the doctor than did those treated with conventional painkillers.

The researchers conclude that using a local acupuncture service in addition to standard care “results in persisting, clinically relevant benefits for patients with chronic headache, particularly migraine”.

A second paper analyses whether the cost was justified. The cost of conventional treatment was £217 a year per patient, while also giving acupuncture cost £403.

The team worked out the cost per “quality-adjusted life year” (qaly). In this case, it was £9,180 — well below the £30,000 threshold of effectiveness set by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, the Government’s drug watchdog. Only one other anti- migraine treatment has been assessed in the same way, the drug sumatriptan, whose cost per qaly was £16,000.

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