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Fascia Exercises May Serve as Effective, Novel Therapy for Migraine Management
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Key Takeaways
- Fascia exercises and conventional physiotherapy both reduced migraine attack frequency and duration, but no significant differences were found between the groups.
- Patient satisfaction and depression scores improved more in the fascia exercise group, suggesting psychological benefits.
Significant improvements were observed in depression and patient satisfaction with fascia exercises compared to conventional physiotherapy.
A recently published, 6-week trial revealed that fascia exercises may be a low-cost, accessible, integrative therapeutic option that can positively influence pain intensity, migraine-related disability, sleep quality, and psychological symptoms in patients with migraine. Investigators concluded that these results should be interpreted with caution due to the exploratory nature of the study and its methodological limitations.
Published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, the study featured 30 patients with migraine who were randomly assigned to a 6-week program of either fascia exercises (treatment group) or conventional physiotherapy (control group). Fascia-specific exercises targeting the appendicular, axial, meningeal, and visceral fascia were performed on a mat, with each movement repeated five times, including a 10-second hold and a slow return to the starting position.
Led by Gönül Vural, of the department of neurology at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, in Turkey, both the treatment and control groups showed significant reductions in attack frequency, duration, and VAS Day and Night scores after treatment (P <.05). However, no significant differences were observed between the groups in the changes from before to after treatment (P >.05). Despite this, patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the treatment group that received fascia exercises compared with the control group (P <.05), indicating a higher perceived benefit and acceptability of fascia exercises as an intervention.
After the 6-week program, both groups demonstrated significant improvements in Migraine Disability Scale (MIDAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). One difference between the groups was in depression scores, which were significant reduced in the treatment group compared with controls (P <.05).
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"Depression is a common comorbidity in migraine, exacerbating the condition’s impact on quality of life and functional capacity," Vural et al wrote. "The reduction in depression scores observed in this study suggests that fascia exercises may provide psychological benefits in addition to physical symptom relief. This dual impact highlights the potential of fascia exercises as an integrative approach that addresses both the physical and emotional burdens of migraine. These findings are consistent with prior studies demonstrating that structured physical activity can alleviate psychological distress and improve overall well-being in patients with chronic conditions."
At baseline, heart rate variability (HRV) parameters were comparable between the groups (P > 0.05). After treatment, the control group showed a significant improvement in mean rate ratio values (P < 0.05), but no other HRV parameters demonstrated significant changes within or between groups (P > 0.05), indicating the intervention might not have an immediate impact on autonomic regulation. Of note, there were no significant changes found in the 24-hr-MQoLQ scores in either group, and nor were there significant differences between groups in the changes in these variables before and after treatment (P >.05).
"Fascia, as a highly innervated connective tissue, plays a key role in modulating autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and pain perception. Mechanoreceptor stimulation during fascia exercises may reduce sympathetic overactivity, promote parasympathetic modulation, and enhance local vasodilation, which collectively contribute to pain relief." The study authors wrote.
"These findings align with previous studies demonstrating the efficacy of myofascial release and related techniques in pain management. Similar benefits have been observed in interventions such as yoga, which also target ANS regulation and have been shown to reduce migraine severity. While these mechanisms are plausible, further research is needed to validate these pathways and their relevance to migraine pathophysiology."
