Further evidence of the positive effects of an educational and physical program on headache, neck and shoulder pain in a working community

Abstract

In a controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple educational and physical program administered to a large cohort of public servants, we previously found that 6 months following treatment the monthly frequency of headache and neck and shoulder pain and drug intake was reduced by 40% in the experimental compared with controls. These results were stable at a 12-month follow up. The program consists of brief shoulder and neck exercises to be performed several times a day, a relaxation exercise, and instructions on how to reduce parafunction and hyperfunction of the craniofacial and neck muscles during the day. The purpose of this work was to investigate whether the data previously obtained could be confirmed also in the group of 192 subjects that served as controls in first phase of the study and received the intervention in the second phase of the study. The primary endpoint was the change in frequency of headache and neck and shoulder pain expressed as the number of days per month with pain, and as the proportion of subjects with a ≥50% reduction of frequency (responder rate) at the last 2 months of the 6-month intervention period compared to the 2 months preceding the intervention (baseline). The number of days of analgesic drug consumption was also recorded. Days per month with headache at the baseline and at the end of intervention period were 6.40 and 4.58 (mean change −1.81, p < 0.0001), respectively; days with neck and shoulder pain were 7.48 and 6.18 (mean change −1.30, p = 0.0179); days of analgesic consumption were 1.67 and 1.17 (mean change −0.50, p = 0.0222). The responder rate was 42.3% for headache, 42% for neck and shoulder pain and 58.3% for drug consumption. In conclusion, this study adds further evidence on the efficacy of our program and its high acceptability in a large, unselected, working population.

Headache cessation by an educational intervention in grammar schools: a cluster randomized trial

“…Stress management and coping strategies have also been shown to reduce the risk of headache. Furthermore, muscle pain in the neck and shoulder region often reported from patients suffering headaches can be reduced by muscle relaxation techniques . A classroom‐based one‐time intervention was therefore designed consisting of a module that provides information on the role of avoidable risk factors for headache (education), a module on how to cope with stress (some basic cognitive behavioural strategies) and a module on muscle relaxation techniques (some examples for physical activities).…”

The Effects of Exercise Therapy for the Improvement of Jaw Movement and Psychological Intervention to Reduce Parafunctional Activities on Chronic Pain in the Craniocervical Region

“…PAs indicate oral habitual movement (tongue habit, masticating by one side, lip/cheek biting, and swallowing) and bruxism (clenching, grinding, and tapping of the teeth). PAs are related to CMDs, comorbid with headaches, eye and ear symptoms, and pain of the neck and shoulder . PAs are also associated with emotional stress .…”

“…Clinicians should therefore be aware of this relationship when assessing and treating patients either with CMDs or craniocervical disorders in clinical practice . Another report has shown that psychological intervention (PI) reduced PAs and hyperfunction of the craniofacial and neck muscles during the daytime and significantly reduced the frequency of headaches and neck and shoulder pain as well as the requirement for drug therapy …”

Effectiveness of preventive and treatment interventions for primary headaches in the workplace: A systematic review of the literature

“…Following exclusion of duplicates and unrelated records, 29 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Seventeen articles were included for critical appraisal (16–32) of which four were based on the same population (21,30–32) and will be considered as one for now; the reasons for exclusion of the other articles are provided in Figure 1.

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram.

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