One-year changes in clinical and balance parameters in individuals of different subtypes of migraine

Migraine has been associated with balance dysfunction, more pronounced in patients with aura and chronic migraine. Also, it has been suggested that balance deficits are progressive through the migraineurs lifetime.

To analyze the one-year progression of balance parameters and clinical parameters associated with balance in female patients with and without migraine.

Prospective cohort study.

The participants were distributed in four groups: control (CG; n = 27) migraine with aura (MA; n = 25), migraine without aura (MwA; n = 26), and chronic migraine (CM; n = 27). They performed the Sensory Organization Test, Motor Control Test and Adaptation Test protocols of dynamic posturography tests. Questionnaires about fear of falls, dizziness disability, and kinesiophobia were administered. These assessments were performed twice: baseline and after 1-year (follow-up). No intervention was performed for balance improvement, and the participants maintained their usual migraine treatment prescribed.

None of the groups differed in balance tests between baseline and follow-up. We observed a reduction in migraine frequency in MA (-2.2 days, p = 0.01) and CM (-10.8 days, p < 0.001) groups, and in the migraine intensity (-2.3 points, p = 0.001) in CM group. Significant decreases in the scores of fear of falling, dizziness disability, and kinesiophobia were observed in the migraine groups (p < 0.05), but the differences did not exceed the minimal detectable change of the questionaries scores.

Women with different migraine subtypes did not present balance changes in a one-year interval. The improvements in migraine's clinical features were not accompanied by improvements in balance parameters.