Acupressure for Headache and Pain: Evidence
What small trials and reviews found for acupressure in headache, migraine, back pain, period pain, osteoarthritis and cancer pain, with red-flag symptoms first and safety limits.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Urgent first
Get urgent help instead of trying acupressure if a headache comes on suddenly and is extremely painful, or comes with numbness or weakness in the body or face, confusion, trouble speaking or walking, loss of vision, a seizure, a head injury in the last 3 months, or a stiff neck with a high temperature. The NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E for these. [1] In the U.S., call 911. Acupressure is information only and does not replace diagnosis or pain care. For the basics, see acupressure.What was tested
Acupressure trials for pain press on chosen points, sometimes points tender to touch, and compare with sham pressure, usual care or medicine. The ideas of qi and meridians are traditional frameworks and are not what trials measure. Pain scores are self-reported, and people usually know whether they are being pressed, so expectation matters.Evidence by use
| Use | What the source found | Strength of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Chronic headache | A trial in Taiwan of 28 people compared one month of acupressure with muscle relaxant medicine. Pain scores were lower with acupressure at one month and at 6 months. [2] It is very small. | Insufficient evidence |
| Migraine prevention | In 98 people with chronic migraine with aura, adding acupressure to sodium valproate gave no extra pain relief, fewer attacks or quality-of-life gain, but less migraine nausea. [3] | Insufficient evidence |
| Fatigue in migraine | In a 76-person sham-controlled trial, fatigue fell more with acupressure than sham. Sleep quality did not differ. [4] | Promising but limited |
| Tension-type and cervicogenic headache | A self-acupressure pillow added to chiropractic care did not do better than chiropractic care alone in 34 people. [5] | No good evidence of benefit |
| Chronic low back pain | A 67-person pilot trial of six weeks of self-administered acupressure found pain reduced by 35 to 36% compared with usual care. It was small, used usual care as the comparison and was not blinded. [6] | Promising but limited |
| Period pain | A 2025 review of 23 trials found acupressure reduced menstrual pain compared with placebo acupressure, oral medication or usual treatment. The authors rated the evidence low quality. [7] | Promising but limited |
| Osteoarthritis pain | A 2026 review of 23 studies (2,639 people) found low-to-moderate quality evidence that self-acupressure was linked with less pain and better sleep. [8] | Promising but limited |
| Cancer pain | A 2020 JAMA Oncology review of 17 trials found acupuncture and/or acupressure was linked with less pain. It combined the two, so acupressure alone cannot be separated. [9] A 2025 network meta-analysis of 37 trials (3,066 people) ranked auricular acupressure and acupoint massage among the better options, noting concurrent pain medicine use as a limit. [10] | Promising but limited |
| Pain in labor | See acupressure in labor and pregnancy. | Promising but limited |
| Ear acupressure for pain | A 2019 review of 15 studies of ear acupuncture or ear acupressure, summarized by NCCIH, found less pain intensity. [11] See ear seeds. | Promising but limited |
For headache and migraine we found no systematic review of acupressure alone that we could read, so the rows above rest on single small trials. The NHS lists acupuncture, not acupressure, among treatments to prevent migraine attacks. [12] See acupuncture for migraine and headache and acupuncture for back and neck pain.
Seeing your doctor about headaches
The NHS advises seeing a GP if self-treatment is not working, if a headache is getting worse, or if you get headaches regularly. [1]Frequently asked questions
Does acupressure work for headaches?
Only small single trials were found. One trial of 28 people found lower pain than with muscle relaxants, and another found no extra pain relief for migraine with aura. [2][3] Proper evidence from large reviews was not found.
Can acupressure help low back pain?
A small pilot of 67 people found less pain than usual care after six weeks of self-administered acupressure. It needs larger, better-controlled trials. [6]
Does acupressure help period pain?
A 2025 review found less menstrual pain than with placebo acupressure, medicine or usual treatment, with low-quality evidence. [7]
Is acupressure safe for pain?
Trials reported minimal, mild or brief effects, often from pressing too hard, but not all tracked harms. [6][8]
Can I use acupressure instead of pain medicine?
No. Talk with your clinician before changing treatment. Cancer pain trials added acupressure to analgesic therapy. [9]
More details: evidence, limits and cautions
The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.
How to read these results
Most of these trials are small, from single centers, or use usual care as the comparison, which cannot separate the effect of pressing from attention and expectation. The headache trial compared with a drug rather than with sham. A pilot trial is a first test and is not proof. A result for one pain condition does not carry over to others.
Side effects and safety
In the back-pain pilot, adverse events were minimal and related to pressing too hard. [6] The osteoarthritis review said reported adverse events were minor and brief, but reporting was inconsistent. [8] The dysmenorrhea review found mild adverse events, reported in only two studies. [7] Stop if pressing hurts, bruises or marks the skin, or if your pain gets worse.
Who should check first
Check with a clinician before trying acupressure for pain if the pain is new, severe or getting worse, and if you are pregnant or have cancer. Do not delay medical care for these, and do not stop pain medicine or migraine treatment because of acupressure. In people with cancer pain, the favorable trials used acupressure with analgesic therapy, not instead of it. [9]
References
- NHS. Headaches. Read 2026-10-22.
- Hsieh LL, et al. Effect of acupressure and trigger points in treating headache: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Chin Med. 2010;38(1):1-14. PubMed 20128040. Read 2026-10-22.
- Xu JH, Mi HY. A randomized controlled trial of acupressure as an adjunctive therapy to sodium valproate on the prevention of chronic migraine with aura. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017;96(27):e7477. PubMed 28682918. Read 2026-10-22.
- Vagharseyyedin SA, et al. The impact of self-administered acupressure on sleep quality and fatigue among patients with migraine: a randomized controlled trial. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2019;35:374-380. PubMed 30600173. Read 2026-10-22.
- Vernon H, et al. A Randomized Pragmatic Clinical Trial of Chiropractic Care for Headaches With and Without a Self-Acupressure Pillow. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2015;38(9):637-643. PubMed 26548737. Read 2026-10-22.
- Murphy SL, et al. Self-Administered Acupressure for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Pain Med. 2019;20(12):2588-2597. PubMed 31237610. Read 2026-10-22.
- Yu X, et al. Efficacy and safety of acupressure for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complement Ther Med. 2025;95:103272. PubMed 41138782. Read 2026-10-22.
- Kou H, et al. Self-acupressure for osteoarthritis self-management and nursing care outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Geriatr Nurs. 2026;73:104288. PubMed 42623907. Read 2026-10-22.
- He Y, et al. Clinical Evidence for Association of Acupuncture and Acupressure With Improved Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Oncol. 2020;6(2):271-278. PubMed 31855257. Read 2026-10-22.
- Wei W, et al. Invasive or noninvasive? A systematic review and network meta-analysis of acupuncture and acupressure to treat cancer pain. Support Care Cancer. 2025;33(11):997. PubMed 41171390. Read 2026-10-22.
- NCCIH. Acupuncture: What You Need To Know. Read 2026-10-22.
- NHS. Migraine. Read 2026-10-22.
Education, not medical advice. This page is for general information. It does not diagnose or treat any condition and is not a substitute for care from a qualified health professional. Natural does not automatically mean safe. Ask a clinician or pharmacist before changing your care, especially if you take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a health condition.