Ear Acupuncture for Relieving Migraine Pain

SadaNews - A preliminary clinical study conducted in Brazil has shown that ear acupuncture may help alleviate migraine pain and reduce its impact on daily life.

Researchers from the University of South Santa Catarina in Brazil explained that the study provides preliminary evidence for the potential use of this type of treatment as a complementary method to help alleviate symptoms of chronic migraines. The results were presented on Friday during the EU Forum of Neuroscience Societies (FENS Forum 2026) held in Barcelona, Spain.

migraines are a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of headaches that range from moderate to severe. They may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. In some cases, they are preceded by neurological symptoms that include visual disturbances such as seeing flashes of light or zigzag lines.

The study included 68 women suffering from chronic migraines, all of whom experienced headache episodes for 15 days or more. They were divided into two groups; the first received 8 sessions of acupuncture at specific ear points related to migraines, while the second underwent a placebo treatment using needles at points unrelated to the condition, over a period of 8 weeks.

The results showed a decrease in the average pain score in the real treatment group from 50.5 points before treatment to 44.7 points after sessions, then to 41 points after 30 days, representing a decrease of 11 percent after treatment and 18 percent after a month.

The impact of migraines on daily life also diminished; the average scores on the "HIT-6" test dropped from 66.1 points before treatment to 60.7 points after sessions, then to 59.5 points after 30 days.

In contrast, the placebo group also showed improvement, as the average pain score fell from 50.2 points to 44.3 points after treatment and then to 43.9 points after a month. The "HIT-6" scores dropped from 65.8 points to 59.2 points after sessions, then to 59.3 points after 30 days.

The lead researcher of the study, Fernanda Belli, from the University of South Santa Catarina, stated that the results seem encouraging, especially as pain continued to improve in the real treatment group during the follow-up period. However, she emphasized that the study does not yet allow for a definitive conclusion about the treatment's effectiveness since improvement was also recorded in the placebo group, and statistical analysis did not show a clear superiority of the real treatment.

She added, through the university's website, that her team intends to reassess the results through a larger study involving more participants, confirming that migraines are among the most prevalent neurological disorders, affecting women at nearly three times the rate of men, while many patients do not achieve adequate control of symptoms using traditional treatments alone.

The researchers suggest that ear acupuncture may affect neural networks responsible for pain regulation, such as the vagus nerve and the trigeminal nerve, and may help modulate the interaction between the nervous and immune systems. However, these hypotheses require further studies.