Headaches and alternatives
While the experience of an occasional headache may be universal and usually is tolerable, chronic headache is an important cause of distress and disability. The vast majority of people who suffer from headaches have either tension-type or migraine headaches. Headache only recently began to receive attention from the pharmaceutical industry and organized medicine. Selective serotonin-agonist drugs like sumatriptan have revolutionized treatment of migraines and dramatically changed the lives of millions of people. However, even these "designer" drugs do not work for at least 30% of patients. Unpleasant side effects may occur, and a very small proportion of patients can suffer serious side effects. These concerns encourage many patients who have tried conventional therapy for migraines to explore complementary therapies. Most headache sufferers, however, have never seen a physician for their headaches and may turn directly to complementary treatments, which seem cheaper, safer (though this may not always be the case), and more holistic.
In numerous double-blind treatment trials, a large proportion (30-40%) of headache patients respond favorably to placebo. This "placebo effect" can account for completely useless therapies being effective in some patients. If a particular therapy appears to be clearly ineffective, but at the same time is harmless and inexpensive, I would not discourage an interested patient from trying such an approach, in hopes of a favorable placebo response.
Types of complementary therapies
Acupuncture
This ancient method has recently received a boost in popularity because of the consensus statement by a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health. This statement strongly suggests that acupuncture is a legitimate therapy proven to be effective for some conditions and deserving additional studies for others. The panel concluded that nausea and acute dental pain clearly respond to acupuncture, while many painful conditions, including headaches, may respond to acupuncture but require additional studies.
