Background: The muscles associated with tension-type headache (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 for TTH that directly target the scalp fasciae.
Objectives: 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 quality of life and headache characteristics after treatment.
Design: pretest-posttest control group design study.
Methods: Total 24 participants with TTH (10 males, 14 females) participated in the study. Manual therapy group (MT) received standard manual therapy and scalp myofascial release technique group (SMT) received scalp myofascial release technique twice per week for 4 weeks. Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and Headache Impact Test (HIT) for quality of life, headache frequency, duration, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for intensity were assessed at the pre- and post-treatment.
Results: There was a significant improvement within groups in headache frequency (MT P<.05, SMT P<.001), duration (MT P<.05, SMT P<.01), VAS (MT P<.01, SMT P<.001), HIT (MT P<.001, SMT P<.001), and BPI (MT P<.001, SMT P<.001) between the pre- and post-treatment. Group differences were significant for headache duration (P=.027), but the others were not. MT and SMT reduced the impact of headaches on daily life. Also Headache frequency, duration, intensity, and BPI were improved.
Conclusion: MT and SMT reduced the impact of headaches on daily life. Also Headache frequency, duration, intensity, and BPI were improved. It has been suggested that both MT and SMT can be used as a non-invasive treatment to treat the TTH, and to improve the quality of life.