Impact of Neck Pain in Medication Overuse Headache
Feb
As chiropractors, we help patients with neck pain and headaches every day. This week, a look at the impact of neck pain in patients with medication-overuse headache…
Neck pain (NP) is a common symptom experienced by individuals with headaches. In patients experiencing migraine headaches for example, the prevalence of NP ranges from ~50-77%. When combined with migraine, NP can substantially increase the level of disability and impact on quality of life; however, it remains unclear whether the NP is a symptom of the underlying headache disorder, a co-existing musculoskeletal complaint, or a combination thereof.
Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary headache disorder caused by regular, frequent consumption of acute symptomatic medications in patients with primary headache disorders. It represents a significant portion of the global disease burden of headache. Patients with MOH are commonly encountered in headache clinics and can be challenging cases to manage. Although the relationship between primary headache and NP is well established, the relationship between NP and MOH has not been well studied.
These authors examined the prevalence and potential implications of NP in patients with MOH. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and severity of NP following treatment for MOH by prospectively registering patients in the MOH registry and determining if there is any potential for improvement. As there have been no studies examining NP in patients with MOH, the authors sought to provide insights that could inform more effective management of the primary headache disorder and associated neck pain.
This week’s Research Review: “Impact of Neck Pain in Medication Overuse Headache”
This paper was published in the Journal of Headache & Pain (2024)
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