Manual Therapy for Tension Headache With Psychological Disorders

Introduction. Tension-type headache is a highly prevalent disorder with a significant socio-economic impact, affecting psychological aspects. This study aims to assess aspects pertaining to anxiety, depression, headache frequency and pain intensity. Subjects and methods. A clinical trial was conducted on 84 participants suffering from tension-type headache, divided into 4 groups, the mean age being 39.76 years (SD 11.38). The first group received suboccipital soft tissue treatment (ST); the second group was treated with articulatory technique (AT); the third group was applied a combination of both techniques (ST and AT) and a forth group which served as control group. Treatment sessions were administered during four weeks, with a post-treatment assessment, and follow-up after one month. The investigators conducted Repeated measures Analysis of Covariance (RM-MANCOVA) to evaluate the effect of treatment on between and within-subject conditions and their interaction on reported depression, anxiety, and headache pain frequency and intensity.