NICE CLINICAL GUIDELINE 150 – HEADACHES
The BCA welcomes the publication today of Clinical guideline 150 “Headaches – Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults” and was pleased, as a Stakeholder, in conjunction with the Anglo European College of Chiropractic to have input to the Guideline Development Group.
Whilst there is no specific recommendation for manual therapy for the management of primary headaches, in several studies, the clinical trials suggest that manual therapy is at least as good as conventional care for headaches. More recent trials, not yet considered by NICE, show more favourable outcomes (1) (2).
Medication overuse has been associated with harm. The BCA suggests that manual therapy is a low risk intervention that may offer relief to those who do not wish to take medication.