Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache

Introduction and purpose: Tension-type headache (TTH) is known to be the most prevalent form of primary headache with a 1-year prevalence of about 26%. About 3 billion people experienced tension type headaches or migraine in 2016. Prevalence rate appears to be highest at 35-39 years of age. Some pa...

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Main Authors: Julia Łabuda, Dawid Falkowski, Marta Frank, Magdalena Kozłowska, Gracjan Kozłowski, Urszula Rewaj-Nowicka, Jowita Szwedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń 2025-05-01
Series:Quality in Sport
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Online Access:https://apcz.umk.pl/QS/article/view/60212
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author Julia Łabuda
Dawid Falkowski
Marta Frank
Magdalena Kozłowska
Gracjan Kozłowski
Urszula Rewaj-Nowicka
Jowita Szwedo
author_facet Julia Łabuda
Dawid Falkowski
Marta Frank
Magdalena Kozłowska
Gracjan Kozłowski
Urszula Rewaj-Nowicka
Jowita Szwedo
author_sort Julia Łabuda
collection DOAJ
description Introduction and purpose: Tension-type headache (TTH) is known to be the most prevalent form of primary headache with a 1-year prevalence of about 26%. About 3 billion people experienced tension type headaches or migraine in 2016. Prevalence rate appears to be highest at 35-39 years of age. Some patients suffer from chronic tension-type headaches (CTTH) when the pain appears during 15 days of a month for 3 months continuously. This review aims to summarize current knowledge in pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of this condition.  Material and methods: Medical databases like PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for scientific papers on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in tension-type headache. These were analyzed and summarized in this review. State of knowledge: Pharmacological treatment of acute tension-type headache is based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. For preventive treatment amitriptyline, opipramol and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are used. Among non-pharmacological treatments we distinguish physical methods like acupuncture, myofascial trigger points therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, physical exercises (aerobic and strengthening), Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and yoga. Psychological therapy is an additional procedure for reducing the pain. Conclusion: However there are many possibilities of treatment both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, it is still a wide area to investigate. 
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spelling doaj-art-341234f3ed6c42629499fbeee6c9f63d2025-08-20T02:59:07ZengNicolaus Copernicus University in ToruńQuality in Sport2450-31182025-05-014110.12775/QS.2025.41.60212Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headacheJulia Łabuda0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2107-4109Dawid Falkowski1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4877-3707Marta Frank2https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6528-4197Magdalena Kozłowska3https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6928-866XGracjan Kozłowski4https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0110-5783Urszula Rewaj-Nowicka5https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4413-7697Jowita Szwedo6https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3482-9023Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Rybacka 1, 70-204 Szczecin, PolandJan Mikulicz-Radecki University Clinical Hospital, Borowska 213, 50-556 WrocławA. Falkiewicz Specialist Hospital, Warszawska 2, 52-114 Wrocław, PolandJan Mikulicz-Radecki University Clinical HospitalDokDok Medical Clinic, al. Armii Krajowej 46ad, 50-541 Wrocław, PolandKarol Marcinkowski University Hospital in Zielona Góra, University of Zielona Góra, Zyty 26, 65-046 Zielona Góra, PolandJan Mikulicz-Radecki University Clinical Hospital, Borowska 213, 50-556 Wrocław Introduction and purpose: Tension-type headache (TTH) is known to be the most prevalent form of primary headache with a 1-year prevalence of about 26%. About 3 billion people experienced tension type headaches or migraine in 2016. Prevalence rate appears to be highest at 35-39 years of age. Some patients suffer from chronic tension-type headaches (CTTH) when the pain appears during 15 days of a month for 3 months continuously. This review aims to summarize current knowledge in pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of this condition.  Material and methods: Medical databases like PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for scientific papers on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in tension-type headache. These were analyzed and summarized in this review. State of knowledge: Pharmacological treatment of acute tension-type headache is based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. For preventive treatment amitriptyline, opipramol and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are used. Among non-pharmacological treatments we distinguish physical methods like acupuncture, myofascial trigger points therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, physical exercises (aerobic and strengthening), Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and yoga. Psychological therapy is an additional procedure for reducing the pain. Conclusion: However there are many possibilities of treatment both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, it is still a wide area to investigate.  https://apcz.umk.pl/QS/article/view/60212headachenon-pharmacological treatmenttension-type headacheacupunctureTENS
spellingShingle Julia Łabuda
Dawid Falkowski
Marta Frank
Magdalena Kozłowska
Gracjan Kozłowski
Urszula Rewaj-Nowicka
Jowita Szwedo
Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache
Quality in Sport
headache
non-pharmacological treatment
tension-type headache
acupuncture
TENS
title Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache
title_full Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache
title_fullStr Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache
title_full_unstemmed Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache
title_short Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension-type headache
title_sort pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment of tension type headache
topic headache
non-pharmacological treatment
tension-type headache
acupuncture
TENS
url https://apcz.umk.pl/QS/article/view/60212
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AT gracjankozłowski pharmacologicalandnonpharmacologicaltreatmentoftensiontypeheadache
AT urszularewajnowicka pharmacologicalandnonpharmacologicaltreatmentoftensiontypeheadache
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