Non-pharmacological treatment | Number of RCTs identified | Intervention | Comparison | Outcomes assessed in the studies |
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual joint mobilisation techniques | 6 (Ajimsha et al. [31]); Castien et al. [32]; Espi-Lopez et al. 2014a [33]; Espi-Lopez et al. 2014b [34]; Espi-Lopez et al. 2016 [35]; Rolle et al. [36]) | Direct myofascial release technique (Ajimsha et al.), manual therapy (Castien et al.), osteopathic manual therapy (Rolle et al.), suboccipital muscle manipulation (Espi-Lopez 2014a, 2014b, 2016). | Sham intervention (Ajimsha et al.; Rolle et al.), treatment as usual (Castien et al.), no treatment (Espi-Lopez 2014a, 2014b, 2016). | • Headache frequency (at the end of treatment and at follow-up) • Quality of life (at the end of treatment and at follow-up) • Headache intensity • Serious adverse events |
Supervised physical activity | Training program for the neck and relaxation (Alvarez-Melcon et al.) and training of neck and shoulder using an elastic band (Andersen et al.). | Relaxation (Alvarez-Melcon et al.) and weekly information on health (Andersen et al). | • Headache frequency (at the end of treatment and at follow-up) • Headache intensity • The use of attack-medicine/analgesics | |
Psychological treatment | 3 (Cathcart et al. [39]; Holroyd et al. [40]; Omidi et al. [41]) | Mindfulness-based therapy (Cathcart et al.), cognitive behavioural stress management (Holroyd et al.) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (Omidi et al.). | Waiting list (Cathcart et al.), placebo (Holroyd et al.) and medical treatment as usual (Omidi et al.). | • Headache frequency • Stress symptoms |
Acupuncture | 1 (Jena et al. [42]) | Acupuncture | No treatment | • Quality of life • Number of days with migraine • Serious adverse events |
Patient education | None identified | – | – | – |