Physical treatments for headache: a structured review
- PMID: 15953306
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2005.05141.x
Physical treatments for headache: a structured review
Abstract
Background: Primary headache disorders, especially migraine, are commonly accompanied by neck pain or other symptoms. Because of this, physical therapy (PT) and other physical treatments are often prescribed. This review updates and synthesizes published clinical trial evidence, systematic reviews, and case series regarding the efficacy of selected physical modalities in the treatment of primary headache disorders.
Methods: The National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE), The Cochrane Library, and other sources of information were searched through June 2004 to identify clinical studies, systematic reviews, case series, or other information published in English that assessed the treatment of headache or migraine with chiropractic, osteopathic, PT, or massage interventions.
Results: PT is more effective than massage therapy or acupuncture for the treatment of TTH and appears to be most beneficial for patients with a high frequency of headache episodes. PT is most effective for the treatment of migraine when combined with other treatments such as thermal biofeedback, relaxation training, and exercise. Chiropractic manipulation demonstrated a trend toward benefit in the treatment of TTH, but evidence is weak. Chiropractic manipulation is probably more effective in the treatment of tension-type headache (TTH) than it is in the treatment of migraine. Evidence is lacking regarding the efficacy of these treatments in reducing headache frequency, intensity, duration, and disability in many commonly encountered clinical situations. Many of the published case series and controlled studies are of low quality.
Conclusions and recommendations: Further studies of improved quality are necessary to more firmly establish the place of physical modalities in the treatment of primary headache disorders. With the exception of high velocity chiropractic manipulation of the neck, the treatments are unlikely to be physically dangerous, although the financial costs and lost treatment opportunity by prescribing potentially ineffective treatment may not be insignificant. In the absence of clear evidence regarding their role in treatment, physicians and patients are advised to make cautious and individualized judgments about the utility of physical treatments for headache management; in most cases, the use of these modalities should complement rather than supplant better-validated forms of therapy.
Similar articles
-
Noninvasive treatments for headache.Expert Rev Neurother. 2005 May;5(3):355-62. doi: 10.1586/14737175.5.3.355. Expert Rev Neurother. 2005. PMID: 15938668 Review.
-
Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with headache.J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2011 Jun;34(5):274-89. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2011.04.008. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2011. PMID: 21640251 Review.
-
Methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of spinal manipulation and mobilization in tension-type headache, migraine, and cervicogenic headache.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006 Mar;36(3):160-9. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2006.36.3.160. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006. PMID: 16596892 Review.
-
A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of chiropractic and medical prophylactic treatment of adults with tension-type headache: results from a stopped trial.J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2009 Jun;32(5):344-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.04.004. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2009. PMID: 19539116 Clinical Trial.
-
Efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic headache: a systematic review.J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2001 Sep;24(7):457-66. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2001. PMID: 11562654
Cited by
-
Neurophysiology, Neuro-Immune Interactions, and Mechanobiology in Osteopathy in the Cranial Field: An Evidence-Informed Perspective for a Scientific Rationale.Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Nov 28;11(23):3058. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11233058. Healthcare (Basel). 2023. PMID: 38063626 Free PMC article.
-
Bibliometric Analysis of 100 Most Highly Cited Publications on Acupuncture for Migraine.J Pain Res. 2023 Mar 9;16:725-747. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S396909. eCollection 2023. J Pain Res. 2023. PMID: 36923648 Free PMC article.
-
The long and winding road: the journey taken by headache sufferers in search of help.Prim Health Care Res Dev. 2019 Jan;20:e4. doi: 10.1017/S1463423618000324. Epub 2018 May 31. Prim Health Care Res Dev. 2019. PMID: 29848391 Free PMC article.
-
Non-pharmacological self-management for people living with migraine or tension-type headache: a systematic review including analysis of intervention components.BMJ Open. 2017 Aug 11;7(8):e016670. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016670. BMJ Open. 2017. PMID: 28801425 Free PMC article. Review.
-
THE EFFECT OF BODY AWARENESS THERAPY AND AEROBIC EXERCISES ON PAIN AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE PATIENTS WITH TENSION TYPE HEADACHE.Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2017 Jan 13;14(2):288-310. doi: 10.21010/ajtcam.v14i2.31. eCollection 2017. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2017. PMID: 28573246 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical