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Laser acupuncture in children with headache: a double-blind, randomized, bicenter, placebo-controlled trial
Sven Gottschling1, Sascha Meyer, Inessa Gribova
1University Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Saarland University, Kirrbergerstr., 66421 Homburg, Germany University Children's Hospital, Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany Caritas Hospital St. Theresia, Pain Clinic, Saarbruecken, Germany Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke, Department of Pediatrics, Herdecke, Germany University Children's Hospital, Section of Neuropediatrics, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
Insights
Low level laser acupuncture significantly reduced headache days and severity in children. Active laser treatment proved more effective than placebo for pediatric headache relief.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Integrative Medicine
- Acupuncture Research
Background:
- Headache is a common complaint in children, impacting quality of life.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles guide individualized acupuncture treatments.
- Low level laser acupuncture offers a non-invasive therapeutic option.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of laser acupuncture in pediatric headache patients.
- To compare active laser acupuncture against a placebo in a randomized controlled trial.
- To assess treatment effects on headache frequency, severity, and duration.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 43 children with migraine or tension-type headache.
- Individualized laser acupuncture treatments based on TCM criteria over 4 weeks.
- Primary outcome: change in headache days; Secondary outcomes: headache severity (VAS) and monthly headache hours.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease of 6.4 headache days per month in the active laser group (p<0.001) versus 1.0 in the placebo group (p=0.22).
- Significant reductions in headache severity and monthly headache hours were observed in the active group compared to placebo at all time points (p<0.001).
- Active laser acupuncture demonstrated superior efficacy over placebo.
Conclusions:
- Laser acupuncture provides significant benefits for children experiencing headaches.
- Active laser treatment is demonstrably more effective than placebo laser treatment for pediatric headaches.
- This study supports laser acupuncture as a viable treatment for childhood headaches.
Abstract:
To investigate whether laser acupuncture is efficacious in children with headache and if active laser treatment is superior to placebo laser treatment in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low level laser acupuncture in 43 children (mean age (SD) 12.3 (+/-2.6) years) with headache (either migraine (22 patients) or tension type headache (21 patients)). Patients were randomized to receive a course of 4 treatments over 4 weeks with either active or placebo laser. The treatment was highly individualised based on criteria of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The primary outcome measure was a difference in numbers of headache days between baseline and the 4 months after randomization. Secondary outcome measures included a change in headache severity using a 10 cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and a change in monthly hours with headache. Measurements were taken during 4 weeks before randomization (baseline), at weeks 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16 from baseline. The mean number of headaches per month decreased significantly by 6.4 days in the treated group (p<0.001) and by 1.0 days in the placebo group (p=0.22). Secondary outcome measures headache severity and monthly hours with headache decreased as well significantly at all time points compared to baseline (p<0.001) and were as well significantly lower than those of the placebo group at all time points (p<0.001). We conclude that laser acupuncture can provide a significant benefit for children with headache with active laser treatment being clearly more effective than placebo laser treatment.