Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of aerobic exercise with physiotherapy. A second objective was to evaluate whether patients with pain referred to the head during manual palpation will benefit more from physiotherapy than patients with local or no pain. M...

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Main Authors: Kerstin Luedtke, Wiebke Starke, Karolin von Korn, Tibor Maximillian Szikszay, Annika Schwarz, Arne May
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-06-01
Series:Cephalalgia Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2515816320930681
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spelling doaj-95ff0e3c838c4a9097d18a06c2b2f8602020-11-25T03:03:53ZengSAGE PublishingCephalalgia Reports2515-81632020-06-01310.1177/2515816320930681Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trialKerstin Luedtke0Wiebke Starke1Karolin von Korn2Tibor Maximillian Szikszay3Annika Schwarz4Arne May5 Department of Health Sciences, Academic Physiotherapy, Pain and Exercise Research Luebeck (P.E.R.L), University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany Rückenzentrum St. Georg, Hamburg, Germany Department of Health Sciences, Academic Physiotherapy, Pain and Exercise Research Luebeck (P.E.R.L), University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyObjectives: The main objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of aerobic exercise with physiotherapy. A second objective was to evaluate whether patients with pain referred to the head during manual palpation will benefit more from physiotherapy than patients with local or no pain. Methods: A total of 103 patients with migraine received physiotherapy ( n = 79) or supervised aerobic exercise ( n = 24) according to their preference as an add-on treatment. Both groups had the same contact time with a specialized physiotherapist. The primary outcome measure was headache frequency during the 4 weeks after the intervention. Eighty-seven patients were analyzed at the primary end point ( n = 69 in the physiotherapy group; n = 18 in the aerobic exercise group). A follow-up assessment was conducted 3 months after the final intervention. Results: During the initial assessment of the upper cervical spine, 17 patients reported no pain, 45 local pain, and 25 referred pain to the head. Patients in the physiotherapy group had a mean reduction of 1.8 days (standard deviation (SD) 6.07), while patients in the aerobic exercise group had a mean reduction of 1.2 days (SD 4.27) at the primary end point. This difference was not statistically significant ( p = 0.8). The largest improvement was noted in the group that showed referred pain to the head and received physiotherapy (2.13 days (SD 7.82)). Only patients in the physiotherapy group reported a subjectively perceived general improvement. Conclusions: Patients had a strong preference for physiotherapy. Both groups showed small reductions in headache frequency. Effects were superior after physiotherapy but not statistically significant. Patients with pain referred to the head responded best to a physiotherapy intervention.https://doi.org/10.1177/2515816320930681
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Kerstin Luedtke
Wiebke Starke
Karolin von Korn
Tibor Maximillian Szikszay
Annika Schwarz
Arne May
spellingShingle Kerstin Luedtke
Wiebke Starke
Karolin von Korn
Tibor Maximillian Szikszay
Annika Schwarz
Arne May
Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial
Cephalalgia Reports
author_facet Kerstin Luedtke
Wiebke Starke
Karolin von Korn
Tibor Maximillian Szikszay
Annika Schwarz
Arne May
author_sort Kerstin Luedtke
title Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial
title_short Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial
title_full Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial
title_fullStr Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial
title_full_unstemmed Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial
title_sort neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: a preference-based clinical trial
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Cephalalgia Reports
issn 2515-8163
publishDate 2020-06-01
description Objectives: The main objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of aerobic exercise with physiotherapy. A second objective was to evaluate whether patients with pain referred to the head during manual palpation will benefit more from physiotherapy than patients with local or no pain. Methods: A total of 103 patients with migraine received physiotherapy ( n = 79) or supervised aerobic exercise ( n = 24) according to their preference as an add-on treatment. Both groups had the same contact time with a specialized physiotherapist. The primary outcome measure was headache frequency during the 4 weeks after the intervention. Eighty-seven patients were analyzed at the primary end point ( n = 69 in the physiotherapy group; n = 18 in the aerobic exercise group). A follow-up assessment was conducted 3 months after the final intervention. Results: During the initial assessment of the upper cervical spine, 17 patients reported no pain, 45 local pain, and 25 referred pain to the head. Patients in the physiotherapy group had a mean reduction of 1.8 days (standard deviation (SD) 6.07), while patients in the aerobic exercise group had a mean reduction of 1.2 days (SD 4.27) at the primary end point. This difference was not statistically significant ( p = 0.8). The largest improvement was noted in the group that showed referred pain to the head and received physiotherapy (2.13 days (SD 7.82)). Only patients in the physiotherapy group reported a subjectively perceived general improvement. Conclusions: Patients had a strong preference for physiotherapy. Both groups showed small reductions in headache frequency. Effects were superior after physiotherapy but not statistically significant. Patients with pain referred to the head responded best to a physiotherapy intervention.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2515816320930681
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