Headaches encompass various clinical types, including migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, tension headaches, cervicogenic headaches, and cluster headaches; episodic cases are treated with analgesics, while chronic cases are treated with antidepressants.

In this context, osteopathy, as a non-pharmacological medicine, utilizes many manual techniques to improve the physiological function of the skull and restore the homeostasis altered by these symptoms.

The aspects that osteopathy treats in this case concern tissue alterations, muscle tone, the misalignment of cranial and cervical bones, and the level of local inflammation.

Patients with chronic headaches may exhibit central and peripheral sensitization (pain), and other symptoms that reduce norepinephrine release and increase the secretion of dopamine and prostaglandins. Some studies report that migraine episodes release high levels of pro-inflammatory agents and serotonin, thereby altering the conduction of the autonomic nervous system.

Scientific evidence has shown that osteopathic treatment positively influences the autonomic nervous system, producing a parasympathetic and anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, non-pharmacological osteopathic treatment can counterbalance the phenomenon of headaches, creating a biological cascade of neurotransmitters that rebalance the neurological pattern.

Excerpt from a scientific study published in the Journal of Pain Research: ‘Osteopathy for primary headache patients: a systematic review’;

Francesco Cerritelli, Eleonora Lacorte, Nuria Ruffini, Nicola Vanacore