The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, is extending research on chiropractic for migraines by evaluating an integrative model of chiropractic care that combines spinal manipulation with other therapeutic components including myofascial release techniques, joint mobilization and movement-based therapies. Its study is recruiting participants through October.

Prior research on chiropractic care for migraine is promising, but incomplete. One recent study from Norway reported that spinal manipulation may reduce the number of days with migraine and migraine pain. Another study from Australia reported that chiropractic spinal manipulation reduced migraine frequency, duration and disability.

Migraine headaches affect 38 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability worldwide. While symptoms differ from patient to patient, over 75 percent of migraineurs report neck pain and associated musculoskeletal complaints. Medications are the first choice of treatment; however, one-third of migraine sufferers report dissatisfaction with current treatment. Commonly prescribed medications also present an increased risk of medication overuse headaches, dependence and pain sensitization. This has led migraineurs to seek complementary and alternative therapies. More than 15 percent of those with migraines seek chiropractic care, suggesting that such a method may be an attractive treatment option.

Source: Peter Wayne, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and research director for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. For more information, contact the study's research assistant Julie Connor at 617-732-6508 or [email protected].