Cranium manual therapy effectiveness in women with headache

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate, in women with migraine, the efficacy of cranium manual therapy on to the intensity, frequency, and duration of pain, as well as on quality of life and depression. The sample
was composed of 37 patients with chronic migraine, randomly divided into
treatment group (TG, n=19) and control group (CG, n=18). Before and after treatment, groups were evaluated as to pain intensity (by means of the visual analog scale), frequency of monthly crisis, and duration of the crisis in hours. Quality of life was assessed by the SF-36 Questionnaire, and depression, by the Beck Depression Inventory. TG subjects received 10 manual therapy sessions during 5 weeks. Evaluation data were statistically analysed, with significance level set at 5% (P=0,05). The comparison of results showed significant differences in pain intensity, frequency and duration of migraine crises (P<0,0001) in favour of TG. In this group, there was also improvement as to quality of life and depression. The manual therapy proposed may thus be said to have brought about decrease in pain intensity, frequency and duration of crises, showing useful as a supporting treatment for this dysfunction.