Effectiveness of Court-Type Traditional Thai Massage in Patients with Chronic Tension-Type Headache: a Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) is the most common type of headache. Although the court-type traditional Thai massage has long been applied for treatment of CTTH, little empirical evidence has been reported regarding its effectiveness. The present study aimed to examine the effects of the court-type traditional Thai massage on CTTH patients.

Methods: The sample comprised of ten patients at the Center of Applied Thai Traditional Medicine of Suan Sunandha University who had CTTH and were recruited based on the criteria set forth by the International Headache Society (HIS). The patients received two 45-minute sessions of the court-type traditional Thai massage over a period of one week. One week before and immediately after each treatment, the patients were assessed using the visual analog scale of pain perception (VAS) and active cervical range of motion (CROM).

Results: The majority of the subjects was female and aged 50-65. The pre-treatment assessment showed that on average, they suffered from CTTH 2.7 times per week with each lasting 3.2 hours and the severity of their CTTH stood at 6.8 cm on the VAS. After the massage therapy, the level of severity on the VAS was reduced significantly (VAS before 6.80±0.78 after 4.10±0.99: p < 0.05).  In addition, the CROM was changed increased in all movement directions (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that From the findings that the court-type traditional Thai massage may be an effective treatment for CTTH. Therefore, further research along similar lines with a control group should be conducted on a larger sample size.