Exercise and Manual Therapy for the Treatment of Primary Headache: An Umbrella and Mapping Review

Abstract

Abstract Objective The main aim of this study was to assess through systematic review the efficacy of exercise and manual therapy (MT) interventions in individuals with primary headache. Methods In this umbrella review, 2 authors reviewed systematic reviews by searching the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, PEDro, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Systematic reviews that evaluated the effectiveness of MT. Exercise-based interventions, or both in patients with primary headaches were included. Methodological quality was analyzed using the ROBIS scale, and the strength of evidence was established according to the Grading Criteria of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. Results Thirty-one systematic reviews containing 79 trials and involving 9103 patients were included. The 7 exercise-related systematic reviews reported beneficial effects on primary headache based on unclear to moderate evidence. Of the 23 MT-related systematic reviews, 11 reported enhanced effectiveness compared with usual care; however, overall heterogeneity and risk of bias were high. Systematic reviews that evaluated the effectiveness of MT, exercise-based interventions, or both in patients with primary headaches were included. Conclusion Results show that exercise could be an effective therapy for the treatment of primary headache, with moderate to limited quality of evidence regarding the positive effects in terms of pain intensity and frequency and duration of headache. Moderate quality of evidence was found regarding the ability of MT to reduce pain intensity in patients with tension-type headaches, but quality of evidence was limited in terms of frequency of headache and disability and pain reduction in patients with migraine. Impact Exercise could be an effective treatment in patients with primary headache. Manual therapy showed limited evidence to reduce pain intensity in patients with tension-type headache. It is not possible to establish a preferential exercise protocol or MT program, so psychosocial and behavioral variables need to be considered in future studies.