Skip to main content
. 2026 Sep 11;17:1876533. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2026.1876533

Table 2.

Schedule of outcome assessments across study time points.

Timepoint Item
Baseline Treatment period Follow-up period
1 month 2 months 3 months 3 months post-treatment
Enrollment
Screening for eligibility √
Informed consent √
Randomization √
Intervention
Press-needle therapy Horizontal double-headed black arrow with pointed tips on both the left and right ends, centered on a white background, commonly used to represent bidirectional relationships or spatial extent.
Sham press-needle therapy Horizontal double-sided arrow with arrowheads pointing left and right, consisting of a solid black line centered on a white background, commonly used to indicate bidirectional movement or measurement.
Assessment
Primary outcome
Headache days (e-diary) √ √ √ √ √
Secondary outcome
Headache intensity (NRS, e-diary) √ √ √ √ √
MMFIQ √ √ √ √ √
MSQ v2.1 √ √ √ √ √
Acute medication use (e-diary) √ √ √ √ √
HRV recording √ √ √ √ √
Exploratory outcomes
Blood biomarkers (CGRP, E2, P4) √ √ √ √
Neuroimaging (subset, MRI) √ √ √ √
Other measures
Blinding assessment √ √ √ √
CEQ √
Adverse events monitoring √ √ √ √
Protocol compliance check √ √ √
Concomitant medication review √ √ √ √ √

NRS, Numeric Rating Scale; MMFIQ, Menstrual Migraine Functional Impact Questionnaire; MSQ, Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire; HRV, Heart Rate Variability; CGRP, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; E2, Estradiol; P4, Progesterone. CEQ, Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire.