Key points
- Queenslanders are needed for a specialised physiotherapy trial targeting the severity and frequency of migraine.
- Researchers are testing a treatment involving therapy focused on turning of the upper neck and at home exercise strategies.
- Migraine affects more than 1.2 billion people – or about 1 in 7 – and last from hours to days, severely impacting quality of life.
A specialised physiotherapy program targeting the severity and frequency of migraine will be tested in a University of Queensland clinical trial to begin this year.
A team of researchers, led by PhD candidate and senior physiotherapist Peter Farmer, is recruiting 55 Queenslanders aged 18-65 with a history of migraine and neck pain.
“Migraine affects more than 1.2 billion people – or about 1 in 7 – and last from hours to days, severely impacting quality of life,” Mr Farmer said.
“Many people with migraine also suffer neck pain, and our aim is to test the effectiveness of a physiotherapy method designed to improve neck rotation, which mainly occurs in the joint between the first and second cervical vertebrae (C1/C2 joint),” Mr Farmer said.
The combination of physiotherapy methods, developed by Mr Farmer over 20 years, involves gentle manual therapy focused on turning of the upper neck, and at home exercise strategies to improve neck mobility and function.
“Clinical assessments often indicate that people with neck pain, neck-based headaches and migraine can have uneven movement in the C1/C2 joint which may influence headaches,” Mr Farmer said.
As part of the pre-screening process, participants will undergo a movement and palpation assessment of their neck function to ensure they can safely complete the treatment.
If eligible, participants will record symptoms with a daily diary and attend 4 weekly 1-hour treatment sessions.
Migraine attacks are debilitating neurological events characterised by intense throbbing pain, often on one side of the head.
People can experience migraine attacks and their frequency differently, and these are often associated with other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.
Mr Farmer said medications are the mainstay of migraine management, but neck treatment may provide additional benefits.
An earlier pilot study of the treatment showed promise, finding reduced migraine frequency in 8 out of 10 participants with migraine, neck pain, and identified neck dysfunction and some people also reported reduction in some of the associated symptoms.
Mr Farmer said some participants who sensed an oncoming attack reported reducing or preventing a migraine event if they did their specific exercises early enough.
“However, this hasn’t been the case for all participants and in this trial, we want to explore the characteristics of those who respond compared to those who do not,” Mr Farmer said.
“It’s possible that movement of the upper neck may influence the likelihood of the neurochemical mediators generated as part of the migraine event from resulting in pain.
“We also want to explore whether improved movement in the upper neck can alter not just headache or neck pain but also other migraine related symptoms.”
If successful, researchers plan to test the treatment in a larger randomised control trial in future, with potential to roll out the treatment online.
“Migraine affects every part of life – work, family, social activities and people often tell us they avoid doing things they enjoy out of fear of triggering an attack,” Mr Farmer said.
“If we can reduce that risk, this could positively impact a migraine sufferer’s quality of life.”
Queenslanders are invited to complete a 10-15 minute questionnaire , and if successful will be invited for a physical assessment to confirm eligibility.
For further information email [email protected]
