The Effectiveness of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine in the Management of Headaches Associated With Post Concussion Syndrome

Early Phase 1

Completed

Brief Summary: Pilot study looking at the Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) for various headache types in patients with post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Twenty-six subjects with symptoms lasting \>3 months were enrolled and were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n = 13) and a control group (n = 13).

Detailed Description: Evidence shows the effectiveness of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) for various headache types, with limited evidence of its use for headaches related to mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). No studies were found regarding OMT for headaches in patients with post-concussion syndrome (PCS), defined as symptom persistence \>3 months after MTBI.

Objective: To evaluate OMT for headaches in patients with PCS. Methods: A controlled pilot study was conducted of patients with PCS who presented to an outpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation clinic. Twenty-six subjects with symptoms lasting \>3 months were enrolled and were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n = 13) and a control group (n = 13). Primary outcome measures were 1) immediate change in headache scores with a visual analog scale (VAS) and 2) change in the 6-item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) between baseline and follow-up visits. 10 control participants completed HIT-6 between baseline and follow-up visits but did not receive OMT and did not complete VAS. After OMT, immediate VAS changes in treatment group and the improvements in HIT-6 scores for both groups between baseline and follow-up were analyzed for statistical significance.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

history of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI),
documented intracranial injury,
chronic headache or migraine headache before the injury,
treatment with a headache specialist at the time of injury, or receipt of IV infusion for medication for headache at the time of treatment.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Study arm - Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy	Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy	Standard of care including physical therapy, occupational therapy and over the counter medication AND OMT as described below: 1. Musculoskeletal examination of the cervical spine. Testing will be comprised of : 1. Range of motion testing involving cervical rotation, lateral side bending, flexion and extension. 2. Muscular palpation of the cervical paraspinals for hypertonicity of the muscles and/or tenderness. 2. Patient placed supine on the examination table. 3. Treatment sessions lasting 5-10 minutes each. OMT techniques: cervical muscle energy, myofascial release of the cervical paraspinals and a suboccipital release. Assessment with Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) at baseline and follow-up visit and change in pain scores between baseline and post treatment.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in the 6-item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) Between Baseline and Follow-up Visit.	4 weeks post treatment (Follow-up visit 1)	HIT-6 was completed at baseline and competed to HIT-6 completed post treatment at follow up visit. Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) is a measure of headache severity and provides information regarding the effect of headache on other domains related to functional participation. The HIT-6 has six questions and the range goes from 36 (best outcome) to a maximum score of 78 (worst outcome). Higher HIT-6 scores indicate increased headache severity and greater functional limitations.
Immediate Change in Headache Scores With a Visual Analog Scale (VAS)	Same day with treatment on visit 1	Change in the headache scores, defined as the different pain pre and post treatment using the visual analog scale (VAS). VAS is widely used to capture pain, the scale ranges from 0-10 with 0 (best outcome) being no pain and 10 being the worst pain possible (worst outcome).