The best from East and West? Acupuncture and medical training therapy as monotherapies or in combination for adult patients with episodic and chronic tension-type headache: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a complex health intervention, based on the combination of conventional Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in an outpatient department of a university hospital for patients with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches.

Methods/design: This is a prospective randomized controlled pilot study with four balanced treatment arms (usual care, acupuncture, training, and training plus acupuncture). Each arm will have 24 patients.