Tension headache and signs and symptoms of craniomandibular disorders treated with acupuncture or physiotherapy

Sixty-two female patients with a diagnosis of chronic tension headache based on neurological criteria were compared with a group of female patients with craniomandibular disorders diagnosed at a stomatognathic clinic. All patients but one in the headache group showed signs of craniomandibular disorder white half of the patients in the craniomandibular disorder group complained of headache. All patients in the headache group and most patients in the craniomandibular disorder group had tender pericranial muscles, suggesting a common aetiological background. The headache patients were randomized into two treatment groups: physiotherapy or acupuncture. After treatment, the physiotherapy group had a reduced intensity and frequency of headache (P < 0.001) as well as a reduced severity of the craniomandibular disorder (P < 0.01). The acupuncture group had a reduced intensity (P < 0.05) and frequency (P < 0.01) of headache but there was no change of severity of the craniomandibular disorder. It was concluded that the causally and individually adapted physiotherapy was more effective than the symptomatic pain-reducing acupuncture.