Self-reported sinus headaches are associated with neck pain and cervical musculoskeletal dysfunction: a preliminary observational case control study.
Shannon M Petersen, Gwendolen A Jull, Kenneth E Learman
PMID 30935330WHAT IT FOUND
Most people with self-reported sinus headaches also had neck pain.
Blinded examination found less sagittal and transverse neck motion, lower neck flexor endurance, and more upper cervical joint pain than in people without headache or neck pain.
Key findings
01In the analysed sample of 61 participants, 30 of 31 people with self-reported sinus headaches met symptom criteria for chronic rhinosinusitis, and 26 of 31 reported neck pain with headache.
02Compared with nonheadache participants, the self-reported sinus headache group had lower neck flexor endurance (20.4 seconds vs 39.9 seconds) and less sagittal and transverse neck motion (116.5° vs 130.8° and 124.4° vs 145.9°).
03Painful upper cervical segmental dysfunction was present in 21 of 31 self-reported sinus headache participants and 3 of 30 nonheadache participants.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sinus headache group was defined by self-report, either self-diagnosis or reported physician diagnosis, and nasal endoscopy was not used to confirm rhinosinusitis. The study compared people with self-reported sinus headaches to people without headache or neck pain, so it cannot show that neck dysfunction caused the headaches or that neck treatment would improve them. Participants were recruited from community advertisements and limited to adults in a specific age range, so results may not apply to all patients with sinus headaches. The study did not compare self-reported sinus headaches with migraine or tension-type headache, which can also cause neck pain and overlapping symptoms. The sample was small and preliminary, so the findings need confirmation in a larger study.
Declared interests
The supplied text reports funding from Des Moines University Iowa Osteopathic Education Research and Grants and no other conflict information.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that neck treatment will improve self-reported sinus headaches. This study did not test treatment, and it used self-reported sinus headaches rather than confirmed rhinosinusitis.