Chiropractic spinal manipulation and tension headaches - Chiropractic Treatment for Headache

Chiropractic spinal manipulation and tension headaches

A controlled clinical study was carried out at the Nordic Institute for Chiropractic to determine whether the isolated intervention of high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation in the cervical spine has any effect on headaches caused by tension in the neck.

The study took place at an ambulatory outpatient facility in an independent NHS- funded chiropractic research institution. Thirty-nine people who were suffering from frequent tension headaches emanating from the neck were recruited from 400 headache sufferers who responded to newspaper advertisements to take part in the study. Half of the group received high-velocity, low- amplitude cervical manipulation twice every week for three weeks, whereas the other half of the group received low level laser in the upper cervical region and deep friction massage (including trigger points) in the lower cervical/upper thoracic region, also twice a week for three weeks.

The efficacy of the treatment was recorded by the change in the daily requirement by the patients for analgesics, the headache intensity per episode and number of headache hours per day.

The results revealed that that both groups experienced a significant reduction on all three outcome measures, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two treatment groups. Both treatments were found to be effective although because no control group was used, it is difficult to assess how effective these modes of treatment are in relation to other forms of treatment.

Nilsson N. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache. Nordic Institute for Chiropractic, Forskerparken 10, 5230 Odense M. Denmark Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (USA) , 1995, 18/7

A randomized controlled trial of the effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache

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