Efficacy of craniosacral therapy in tension-type headaches in adult patients

Abstract

Introduction: Headaches are a common health issue. The second most common type of headache is the tension-type headache (migraine-type headache is the most common type). Tension-type headaches are often referred to as stressrelated or psychogenic headaches. Tension-type headaches often correspond with feeling unwell, and with depression or anxiety. Often they are drug resistant. This means that the treatment process may require patients to consider lifestyle changes. Patients seek other treatment types than pharmacotherapy and consider more holistic approaches, for instance natural medicine, breathing exercises or traditional Chinese medicine. The literature presents relationships between craniosacral therapy and headaches of various etiology, yet relatively few studies have been conducted on this matter. This study provides an additional insight into this therapeutic method. The aim of this study was to establish whether craniosacral therapy can reduce pain. Material and methods: The study involved 30 adult patients. There were 22 women (73.3%) and 8 male patients (26.7%). Their mean age was 30.13 ± 5.33 years. The treatment used the Upledger’s 10-step protocol and sessions were performed four times within a two-week period. Results: Prior to the treatment, the mean HIT-6 scale pain intensity was 62.67 ± 4.65 points. After the treatment, pain intensity reduced to a statistically significant level of 48.43 ± 9.45 points. We found that pain reduction was greater in patients with higher BMI. The gender or age of patients did not affect the results. Conclusion: Craniosacral therapy is an efficient pain reduction method in patients with tension-type headaches.