Efficacy of mindfulness-based intervention for the treatment of chronic headaches: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Ann Med Surg (Lond) 2022;
78:103862. [PMID:
35734718 PMCID:
PMC9207091 DOI:
10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103862]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
Mindfulness-based stress reduction/cognitive therapy
has attained popularity as an adjunctive treatment for a plethora of medical and
psychiatric conditions, however, its impact on chronic headaches is inconclusive.
This review aims to assess the impact of MBSR/MBCT in alleviating the symptoms of
chronic headaches.
Data sources and data selection
PubMed and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched from
inception till 1st May 2021. Randomized Control Trials evaluating mindfulness-based
stress reduction/cognitive therapy with either passive comparators (usual care) or
active comparators (e.g., Health education or cognitive behavioral therapy) for
chronic headaches (Migraine, Tension-type, or cluster headaches), which evaluated
either headache frequency, pain intensity or headache duration as primary outcome
were eligible for inclusion. The Risk of Bias was evaluated using the Cochrane
Collaboration's Risk of Bias Tool.
Results
A total of ten Randomized Controlled Trials (five on
migraine; three on tension-type; two with mixed samples) were evaluated. In
comparison to usual care, mindfulness-based stress reduction/cognitive therapy did
not illustrate significant changes in headache frequency (MD = −0.14; 95% CI -1.26 to
0.97; P = 0.80; Moderate Certainty), headache duration (MD = −0.27; 95% CI -3.51 to
2.97, P = 0.87; Low Certainty) or pain intensity (MD = −0.19; 95% CI -0.46 to 0.07;
P = 0.15; Moderate Certainty)
Conclusion
The results found are insignificant for the three
primary outcomes, which may be due to the low number of participants and often a high
or unclear risk of bias in the randomized control trials included. Perhaps more
aggressive clinical trials with a larger sample size effectively demonstrate
differences in outcomes before and after therapy for MBSR/MBCT could provide a more
significant change.
Mindfulness-based therapy for treatment of chronic
headache.
Mindfulness vs usual care for treating patients with
chronic headache.
Effect of different mindfulness-based techniques over
headache frequency, intensity and duration.
Efficacy of Mindfulness-based therapy in achieving
mindfulness in pts with chronic headache.
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