Spinal manipulations for tension-type headaches: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Complementary Therapies in Medicine
Paul Posadzki, Edzard Ernst

Abstract

The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of spinal manipulations as treatment option for tension type headaches. Eight databases were searched from their inception to May 2011. All randomized trials were considered, if they investigated spinal manipulations performed by any type of healthcare professional for treating tension type headaches in human subjects. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by two reviewers. The Cochrane tool and the Jadad score were used to assess methodological quality of trials. Five randomized clinical trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria. Their methodological quality was mostly high and ranged between 2 and 4 on the Jadad score. Four RCTs suggested that spinal manipulations are more effective than drug therapy, spinal manipulation plus placebo, sham spinal manipulation plus amitriptyline or sham spinal manipulation plus placebo, usual care or no intervention. One RCT showed no difference in daily hours of headache, pain intensity, and daily analgesic use compared to soft tissue therapy plus placebo laser. The evidence that spinal manipulation alleviates tension type headaches is encouraging, but inconclusive. The low ...Continue Reading

Associated Clinical Trials

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Citations

Nov 22, 2013·The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy·René CastienJoost Dekker
Oct 4, 2014·The Journal of Headache and Pain·Aleksander Chaibi, Michael Bjørn Russell
Oct 8, 2014·Brain Injury : [BI]·Nathan D Zasler
Feb 8, 2016·European Spine Journal : Official Publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society·Sharanya VaratharajanAnne Taylor-Vaisey
May 27, 2014·Neurología : publicación oficial de la Sociedad Española de Neurología·C Lozano LópezC Fernández de Las Peñas
Jul 1, 2014·The Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy·César Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, Carol A Courtney
Jun 3, 2016·The Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy·Marloes Thoomes-de Graaf, Erik Thoomes
Mar 10, 2015·Cephalalgia : an International Journal of Headache·Juan A Mesa-JiménezCesar Fernández-de-Las-Peñas
Dec 15, 2015·Cephalalgia : an International Journal of Headache·César Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, María L Cuadrado
Oct 1, 2017·The Journal of Headache and Pain·Cristina TassorelliMaria Gabriella Buzzi
Mar 28, 2017·Systematic Reviews·Sabrina Mai NielsenMarius Henriksen
Aug 30, 2014·The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association·Guido RolleLivio C Bressan
Mar 12, 2018·Neurología : publicación oficial de la Sociedad Española de Neurología·C Cumplido-TrasmonteF Molina-Rueda

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