Osteopathy may reduce tension headache frequency

[Celebration]

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-09-21T174900Z_01_COL164043_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-OSTEOPATHY-DC.XML&archived=False

To investigate the effectiveness of osteopathy for tension headache, Anderson and Seniscal randomized 29 tension headache sufferers to three osteopathic treatments along with relaxation exercises performed every day at home, or the relaxation exercises only.

People who received the osteopathic treatments had significantly more headache-free days than those in the control group in the weeks following treatment.

Based on headache diary ratings, patients in the osteopathic treatment group showed a 57.5 percent improvement, compared to an improvement of 15.6 percent for the control group.

However, the intensity of headaches did not improve in the osteopathic treatment group.

The researchers conclude that osteopathy with relaxation is better than relaxation alone in reducing headache frequency among tension headache sufferers.

[trotsky]

1. Actually the researchers made no such conclusion.

From the abstract at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2006.00535.x

Conclusion.—The people in this study who did relaxation exercises and received 3 osteopathy treatments had significantly more days per week without headache than those who did only relaxation exercises.

I don't think one can draw any conclusions about all tension headache sufferers from a study of just 26 people, and it appears the researchers knew that. The person who wrote the article jumped to the larger conclusion.

[Celebration]

2. statistics

It reached a level of statistical significance--

"All tests of significance were set at P≤ .05."

All studies are done that way. The .05 level means that the probability that the difference between the control group and the experimental group was due to chance was five percent or less. There is a ninety five percent or greater probability that the difference in headache frequency was due to the osteopathic treatment.

If a larger group had been used, and the same difference had been seen, then the probability that the difference was due to chance would be reduced, and the probability that it was due to treatment would be higher.

One study doesn't "prove" anything. However, it would be a good idea for researchers to try to replicate this. Headaches can be a terrible burden. Based on this evidence, if I had terrible headaches, I certainly would try osteopathic treatments.

[trotsky]

3. Some more info on P value

http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/esc.html#What%20is%20%22statistical%20significance%22%20(p-level)

Typically, in many sciences, results that yield p .05 are considered borderline statistically significant but remember that this level of significance still involves a pretty high probability of error (5%). Results that are significant at the p .01 level are commonly considered statistically significant, and p .005 or p .001 levels are often called "highly" significant. But remember that those classifications represent nothing else but arbitrary conventions that are only informally based on general research experience.