ANTA Member Article Summer 2023
Elise Cowley
ANTA Member BHSc (Nutritional Medicine) Diploma of Remedial Massage
An In-Depth Review of the Efficacy of Manual Therapy for Neck Pain and Headaches
Introduction:
Neck pain and headaches can be incredibly debilitating, with many sufferers seeking all manner of interventions to alleviate pain and discomfort. As remedial massage therapists and myotherapists, headaches are among some of the most common complaints our patients present with, in clinic. We know firsthand how patients can benefit from tailored manual therapy protocols for cervicogenic pain. So does the current scientific research support the empirical evidence among practitioners? It turns out there’s plenty of data showing that various manual therapy interventions can drastically reduce neck pain, headaches and cervical dysfunction among patients. In this article, we will look in-depth at the efficacy of spinal manipulative therapies, trigger point therapy, stretching and vertebral mobilisation techniques for relieving neck pain and headaches. The
bottom line is that manual therapy, in many forms, is a great solution for headache patients that provides targeted benefits with demonstrable efficacy.
The Burden of Cervicogenic Neck Pain and Headaches:
As defined in the International Classification of Headache Disorders by Olsen (2018)1, a cervicogenic headache is a ‘secondary headache arising from a disorder in the cervical spine and its periarticular components, often accompanied by neck pain. The majority of cervicogenic pain is due to dysfunction or sensitisation in the upper neck and spinal segments of C1, C2 and C3’. Recent reports suggest that headaches affect 2.2%-4.1% of the general population, with a higher occurrence in women than in men by a factor of four2. There can be a range of reasons why people sustain cervicogenic headaches, from direct trauma
THE NATURAL THERAPIST VOL 38 NO. 2 | SUMMER 2023 | PAGE 39
