Tension Headache -

Tension Headache
EBSCO Publishing

Modern life is stressful, and tension headaches are one result of that stress. People with such headaches often describe a sensation like a tight band around the head; this band may in fact exist as a contracted muscle. Other characteristics of tension headache include aching, dull, or throbbing pain, usually concentrated in the forehead, temples, or base of the skull. Symptoms may overlap those of migraine, cluster, or sinus headaches, and medical advice may be necessary to distinguish between them.

Medical treatment for tension headaches generally involves the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and possibly muscle relaxants. Physicians may also recommend physical therapy techniques in hopes of addressing the causes of tension headaches, such as muscle tension in the neck or jaw.

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Principal Proposed Natural Treatments
Both acupuncture and chiropractic have undergone significant evaluation as treatments for tension headaches.

Acupuncture
Placebo-controlled studies of acupuncture for tension headaches have yielded mixed results. One study compared six sessions of traditional acupuncture against sham acupuncture in 18 people with chronic tension headache.1 The real treatment caused a 31% reduction in pain and was found to be significantly more effective than placebo.

In addition, a study of 29 students suffering from various types of headaches found that a single acupuncture treatment decreased the number of days during which headaches occurred, as well as total use of medications.2 A statistically insignificant reduction in the number of days of attacks was seen in the placebo group.

However, a study of 39 participants with tension headache found no convincing evidence that acupuncture was helpful.3 In addition, a single-blind study of 50 participants with tension headache found that a special brief style of acupuncture treatment given once a week for 6 weeks did not reduce headache frequency.4 Several other trials also failed to find evidence of benefit with various forms of acupuncture.5Ò7, 35-36

For more information on this method, see the full acupuncture article.

Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation
Neck tension can cause tension and pain in the head. Such Ïcervicogenic headachesÓ overlap closely with tension headaches. Chiropractic spinal manipulation has shown some promise for these conditions, but the evidence is incomplete and somewhat contradictory.

In a controlled trial of 150 participants, investigators compared spinal manipulation to the drug amitriptyline for the treatment of chronic tension-type headaches.8 By the end of the 6-week treatment period, participants in both groups had improved similarly. However, 4 weeks after treatment was stopped, people who had received ...