The National Institute for Health and Clinical Evidence (NICE) have published guidelines in relation to several types of chronic headache. The document ‘Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults’ was published today. The guidelines investigate diagnosis and pharmacological/non-pharmacological management of headaches including migraine (with or without aura/menstrual-related/chronic), cluster headache, tension-type headache and medication overuse headache.
Pharmacological and non-pharmacological management, including acupuncture, manual therapies such as chiropractic, dietary supplements and herbal remedies, exercise, education and self-management and psychological therapies are reviewed and considered. Several recommendations are made in the document, including a research recommendation for the use of manual therapies (such as chiropractic) for people with chronic headache disorders to strengthen the evidence base. The recommendation states that “A study of the clinical and cost effectiveness of manual therapies for people with chronic headache disorders has the potential to substantially improve their quality of life….”but further research is needed.
The 360 page document can be found in all its glory at http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13901/60854/60854.pdf for those that are interested in reading more.