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Can tai chi ward off migraines? study pits ancient practice against modern medicine

NCT ID NCT05690737

Prevention Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 10, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing whether 24 weeks of Tai Chi training can prevent episodic migraines in Chinese women as effectively as standard preventive medication. The trial enrolls 220 women aged 18 to 65 who have two to six migraines a month. Participants in the Tai Chi group attend instructor-led sessions and practice at home, while others receive medication. Brain scans and blood flow tests will explore how Tai Chi might change the brain and blood vessels.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Tai Chi training, a mind-body exercise program
What this could lead to
If Tai Chi works as well as medication, it could offer women a drug-free way to prevent migraines. It could also reveal how exercise and relaxation change blood flow and inflammation in the brain.
What could go wrong
This is a single study in Chinese women, so results may not apply to everyone. Tai Chi takes time and commitment, and it may not match the power of standard migraine drugs.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

220 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Sep 2023

Finished

Jun 2026

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 65 years

Sex

Female participants only

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Chinese woman, aged 18-65 years. * Have a clinical diagnosis of episodic migraine (migraine with less than 15 attacks per month) with or without aura according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3). * First migraine attack before the age of 45 years. * Between two and six migraine attacks in one month. * At least one of the following migraine characteristics is met: nausea, vomiting, photophobia, or phonophobia. * Duration of migraine attacks is 2-72 h without acute medication or at least 1 h with acute medication. * Able to undertake designated level of Tai Chi exercise. * Live in Hong Kong. Exclusion Criteria: * Severe migraine attacks with disabilities that cannot perform moderate intensity physical activity. * Secondary headache and other neurological disease. * More than 5 days of non-migrainous headache per month. * Experience with Tai Chi or other body-mind exercises (yoga, biofeedback, medication, etc.) after diagnosis of migraine. * Undergoing other alternative therapeutic treatments during recruitment period, or received other alternative therapeutic treatments in the past 12 weeks. * Pregnancy, lactation period, or currently using contraceptives. * Use of pharmacological prophylactic treatment for migraine in the past 12 weeks. * Drug abuse, take antipsychotic or antidepressant drugs, or take analgesics for other chronic pain more than 3 days a month in the past 12 weeks. * Epilepsy, or have a psychiatric disease.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

migraine disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Migraine disorders

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

    Hong Kong, HONG KONG, Hong Kong

  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

    Hung Hom, Hong Kong

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