Aleksander Chaibi

Manual therapies for migraine: a systematic review

Migraine occurs in about 15% of the general population. Migraine is usually managed by medication, but some patients do not tolerate migraine medication due to side effects or prefer to avoid medication for other reasons. Non-pharmacological management is an alternative treatment option. We systematically reviewed randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on manual therapies for migraine. The RCTs suggest that massage therapy, physiotherapy, relaxation and chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy might be equally effective as propranolol and topiramate in the prophylactic management of migraine. However, the evaluated RCTs had many methodological shortcomings. Therefore, any firm conclusion will require future, well-conducted RCTs on manual therapies for migraine.

Validation of Placebo in a Manual Therapy Randomized Controlled Trial

At present, no consensus exists among clinical and academic experts regarding an appropriate placebo for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT). Therefore, we investigated whether it was possible to conduct a chiropractic manual-therapy RCT with placebo. Seventy migraineurs were randomized to a single-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial that consisted of 12 treatment sessions over 3 months. The participants were randomized to chiropractic SMT or placebo (sham manipulation). After each session, the participants were surveyed on whether they thought they had undergone active treatment (“yes” or “no”) and how strongly they believed that active treatment was received (numeric rating scale 0–10). The outcome measures included the rate of successful blinding and the certitude of the participants’ beliefs in both treatment groups. At each treatment session, more than 80% of the participants believed that they had undergone active treatment, regardless of group allocation. The odds ratio for believing that active treatment was received was >10 for all treatment sessions in both groups (all p < 0.001). The blinding was maintained throughout the RCT. Our results strongly demonstrate that it is possible to conduct a single-blinded manual-therapy RCT with placebo and to maintain the blinding throughout 12 treatment sessions given over 3 months.

Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine: a three‐armed, single‐blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial

To investigate the efficacy of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT) for migraineurs.

Adverse events in a chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial for migraineurs

BACKGROUND Unlike pharmacological randomized controlled trials (RCTs), manual-therapy RCTs do not always report adverse events (AEs). The few manual-therapy RCTs that provide information on AEs are frequently without details, such as the type and-, severity of the AE and reason for withdrawal. OBJECTIVE To prospectively report all AEs in a chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT) RCT. DESIGN A prospective 3-armed, single-blinded, placebo, RCT. METHODS Seventy migraineurs were randomized to the CSMT or a placebo, with 12 intervention sessions over three months. The recommendations by CONSORT and the International Headache Societys Task Force on AEs in migraine RCTs were followed. A standardized reporting scheme designed for pharmacological RCTs was used, and the AEs were described as frequencies and percentages within each group. The 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the percentages (absolute risk) of AEs in each group were calculated when possible. Attributable risk (%) and relative risk were calculated with the corresponding 95% CIs. RESULTS AEs were assessed in 703 sessions, with 355 in the CSMT group and 348 in the placebo group. Local tenderness was the most common AE, reported by 11.3% and 6.9% of the CSMT group and the placebo group, respectively, and tiredness on the intervention day was reported by 8.5% and 1.4% of CSMT group and the placebo group, respectively. The highest attributable risk was for tiredness on the treatment day, 7.0% (CI 3.9-10.2%) which presented a relative risk of 5.9 (CI 2.3-15.0). CONCLUSIONS AEs were mild and transient, and severe or serious AEs were not observed.

Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine: a study protocol of a single-blinded placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial.

Introduction Migraine affects 15% of the population, and has substantial health and socioeconomic costs. Pharmacological management is first-line treatment. However, acute and/or prophylactic medicine might not be tolerated due to side effects or contraindications. Thus, we aim to assess the efficacy of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT) for migraineurs in a single-blinded placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial (RCT). Method and analysis According to the power calculations, 90 participants are needed in the RCT. Participants will be randomised into one of three groups: CSMT, placebo (sham manipulation) and control (usual non-manual management). The RCT consists of three stages: 1 month run-in, 3 months intervention and follow-up analyses at the end of the intervention and 3, 6 and 12 months. The primary end point is migraine frequency, while migraine duration, migraine intensity, headache index (frequency x duration x intensity) and medicine consumption are secondary end points. Primary analysis will assess a change in migraine frequency from baseline to the end of the intervention and follow-up, where the groups CSMT and placebo and CSMT and control will be compared. Owing to two group comparisons, p values below 0.025 will be considered statistically significant. For all secondary end points and analyses, a p value below 0.05 will be used. The results will be presented with the corresponding p values and 95% CIs. Ethics and dissemination The RCT will follow the clinical trial guidelines from the International Headache Society. The Norwegian Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics and the Norwegian Social Science Data Services have approved the project. Procedure will be conducted according to the declaration of Helsinki. The results will be published at scientific meetings and in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number NCT01741714.

Chiropractic spinal manipulative treatment of migraine headache of 40-year duration using Gonstead method: a case study

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to present a case study of chiropractic spinal manipulative treatment (CSMT) using the Gonstead method for a patient with migraines. CLINICAL FEATURES The patient was a 52-year-old married woman with a long-term history of chronic migraines, which included nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. The patient had endometriosis, but did not relate the migraines to her menstrual cycles. She also reported not using medication for her migraines due to previous drug-related issues. The average frequency of episodes before treatment was 1 per month, and her migraines often included an aura. The pain was moderate, was located on the right side, was pulsating, and lasted for approximately 15 hours. The numeric pain scale for an average episode was 8 out of a possible 10. The aura involved nausea, photophobia, and visual disturbances including black dots in the visual field lasting for approximately 10 minutes. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME The patient reported all episodes being eliminated following CSMT. At 6-month follow-up, the patient had not had a single migraine episode in this period. The patient was certain that there had been no other lifestyle changes that could have contributed to her improvement. CONCLUSION This case adds to previous research suggesting that some migraine patients may respond favorably to CSMT. The case also provides information on the Gonstead method. A case study does not represent significant scientific evidence in context with other studies conducted; this study suggests that a trial of CSMT using the Gonstead methods could be considered for chronic, nonresponsive migraines.

Chiropractic spinal manipulative treatment of cervicogenic dizziness using Gonstead method : a case study

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this case report is to present the response of a patient with chronic nonresponsive cervicogenic dizziness to chiropractic care. CASE REPORT A 29-year-old man had a 10-year history of progressive cervicogenic dizziness with symptoms including a sensation of excessive motion, imbalance, and spinning associated with neck pain and stiffness. After treatment, he reported a reduction in pain and dizziness and an improved quality of life following Gonstead method of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. CONCLUSION This case study suggests that a patient with nonresponsive cervicogenic dizziness might respond to chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy approach using Gonstead method.

EHMTI-0266. Validation of a sham manipulative procedure: a new protocol for conducting placebo-control clinical trials in manual therapy

Method A single blinded, prospective randomized, placebocontrolled trial with 1 month baseline and 3 months treatment with 12 treatments. 104 participants diagnosed with migraine were equally randomized into 1 of 3 groups: (i) chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT), (ii) placebo (sham manipulation), (iii) control group (continued usual management). The participants filled in questionnaire on de-blinding after each treatment session. Primary end-point was the rate of successful blinding through de-blinding questionnaires given after each treatment session.