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KMID : 1035420210090020119
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Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
2021 Volume.9 No. 2 p.119 ~ p.130
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Effects of Scalp Myofascial Technique and Manual Therapy on Pain and Quality of Life in Tension Type Headache Patients : Six Month Follow-up Results
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Lee Hwa-Gyeong
Kim Seong-Yoel
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Abstract
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Many studies have investigated the causes of tension-type headache (TTH). The muscles associated with TTH are connected to the scalp fascia, which is firmly attached to the superciliary ridge of the frontal bone. However, there is a paucity of data on treatments that provide relief by directly targeting the scalp fasciae. We aimed to validate a new manual therapy to treat TTH by applying myofascial relaxation techniques to the scalp and to examine the changes in the quality of life and the headache characteristics after treatment and at the 6-month follow-up.
Thirty patients were recruited in this study and were assigned to two groups through simple random sampling. Fifteen patients were assigned to the manual therapy group (MT) and 15 patients to the scalp myofascial release technique (SMT) group. However, five patients from the MT group and one from the SMT group were excluded. Therefore, 24 patients with TTH (10 males, 14 females) participated in the study.
Patients underwent either MT or SMT. The procedures were performed by a physical therapist twice per week for 4 weeks. The quality of life (using the brief pain inventory [BPI] and the headache impact test [HIT]), and the frequency, duration, and intensity of the headache (on a visual analog scale [VAS]) were assessed before (baseline) and after the treatment (after 4 weeks), and at the follow-up (after 6 months).
After 4 weeks of MT, the frequency (p<.05), duration (p<.05), and intensity (p<.01) of the headache, and the quality of life (HIT; p<.05, BPI; p<.001) significantly improved in the patients with TTH. The improvement in these parameters remained significant even after 6 months of follow-up. Similarly, after 4 weeks of SMT, the frequency (p<.001), duration (p<.05), and intensity (p<.001) of the headache and the quality of life (HIT; p <.001, BPI; p<.001) significantly improved in the patients with TTH. The improvement in these parameters remained significant even after 6 months of follow-up. There was no significant difference in these parameters between the two groups.
The results could not determine the superiority of one treatment over another, but both methods were shown to significantly improve the frequency, duration, and intensity of the headache, and the quality of life in the patients complaining of TTH. It has been suggested that MT using the SMT can be used as a non-invasive treatment to treat the frequency, duration, and intensity of the TTH, and to improve the quality of life. In future studies, the number of study subjects should be increased, and double-blinded randomized control trials should be conducted.
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KEYWORD
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Tnesion-type headache, Manual therapy, Scalp myofascial release technique, pain, Quality of life
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