Can subjective characteristics of benign headache predict manipulative physiotherapy treatment outcome?

This study aimed to identify whether particular subjective reports of headache sufferers were predictive of outcome with manipulative physiotherapy treatment. One hundred and twelve subjects presenting for manipulative physiotherapy completed questionnaires relating to headache frequency, intensity, duration, pain quality, area, history and aggravating factors. Classification of treatment response was made using data collected two months after the initial visit. Diet as an aggravating factor, affective and autonomic pain descriptors, unilateral headaches and low frequencies each predicted a negative response to treatment. High frequencies predicted a positive response. If it is assumed that the treatment addressed cervical dysfunction then the cervical spine could have a varying component in a range of headache types rather than occupying a strict diagnostic category.