Chiropractic Care for Episodic Migraine

Episodic Migraine Clinical Trial

Official title:

Chiropractic Care for Episodic Migraine

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06229834
• Other study ID #: 2023P003554
• Secondary ID: R01AT012228-01
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 1, 2024
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2027

Study information

• Verified date: March 2024
• Source: Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Contact: Pamela M Rist, ScD
• Phone: 617-278-0835
• Email: prist[@]mail.harvard.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Migraine, a chronic intermittent headache disorder, ranks in the top five causes of years lived with disability. One promising non-pharmacologic and integrative treatment for migraine may be chiropractic care due to the co-occurrence of migraine and musculoskeletal complaints. The goal of this application is to perform a pilot study of chiropractic care for episodic migraine to help inform the design of a future, full-scale pragmatic effectiveness trial.

Description:

Migraine, a chronic intermittent headache disorder, ranks in the top five causes for years lived with disability. Due to the high disability burden associated with migraine, individuals who experience migraine often seek treatments to reduce the frequency and severity of their attacks and often express interest in nonpharmacologic and integrative approaches. One promising treatment may be chiropractic care due to the comorbidity of migraine and musculoskeletal complaints. Our long-term goal is to conduct a multi-site large-scale, fully powered trial evaluating the effectiveness of a validated multimodal chiropractic care intervention to reduce migraine frequency, severity, and disability. To help inform the design of a large-scale trial with both pragmatic and explanatory features, we propose to conduct a two-arm pilot randomized attention-controlled trial at two sites which are representative of sites to be included in the future large-scale trial. We will recruit and randomize 60 individuals (30 per site) to either 1) 14 visits of chiropractic care (CC) (6 visits of CC over 3 weeks followed by 8 visits of CC over 12 weeks); or 2) 14 sessions of headache health education (15-minute 1:1 virtual sessions focused on pre-defined migraine specific topics) - both added to usual medical care. This study will allow us to address the following aims: 1) To train a team of chiropractors from established clinics within two academic medical centers with existing partnerships with headache programs, refine our intervention, and assess the fidelity of intervention protocols; 2) To optimize data collection, data management, and reporting procedures across sites and establish the infrastructure needed for a large-scale trial; 3) To assess the feasibility of recruitment, retention, and adherence across multiple study sites; 4) To assess participant expectations and treatment experience.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 60
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2027
• Est. primary completion date: April 1, 2026
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Migraine frequency between 4 to 13 days per month during a four week run-in period, and with a history of migraines dating for at least one year;
• Stable use of behavioral interventions or, if not currently using behavioral interventions, agree to not begin new behavioral interventions during this trial;
• Be willing to complete all study procedures and be randomized to all intervention groups;
• Be fluent in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any major systemic illness or unstable medical condition (e.g. Parkinson's disease, cancer) or psychiatric condition requiring immediate treatment or that could lead to difficulty complying with the protocol;
• History of stroke, carotid artery dissection, or vertebral artery dissection;
• Signs of myelopathy or carotid bruits or evidence of hypermobility during the clinical exam;
• Head or neck trauma within the past year;
• Current alcohol or substance abuse (self-reported);
• Diagnosis of medication overuse headache (International 3rd Classification of Headache Disorders-edition);
• Currently or recently (past 6 months) received Botox treatment for migraine;
• Currently or recently received chiropractic care (past 3 months) for any condition;
• Failure to complete baseline migraine logs use during run-in phase.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Episodic Migraine
• Migraine Disorders

Intervention

Procedure:
• Chiropractic Care
The chiropractic care protocol can be personalized to the patient's clinical needs and follows the scope of chiropractic care practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Connecticut. Components of the chiropractic intervention include: posture correction / spinal stabilization exercises; soft tissue relaxation techniques; spinal manipulation (i.e. chiropractic adjustment) / mobilization; breathing and relaxation techniques; stretches, self-care; ergonomic modifications; bracing and supports.

Behavioral:
• Headache Health Education
Material to be covered will focus on pre-defined migraine specific topics including materials we have previously used in a popular Osher Clinical Center patient education program called the Migraine Toolkit. Sessions will be delivered by trained research assistants and will utilize publicly available short videos followed by scripted discussions with the participant. Participants will be allowed to continue usual care throughout the study.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (5)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Brigham and Women's Hospital	National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), Palmer College of Chiropractic, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale University

References & Publications (15)

Albrecht DS, Mainero C, Ichijo E, Ward N, Granziera C, Zurcher NR, Akeju O, Bonnier G, Price J, Hooker JM, Napadow V, Loggia ML, Hadjikhani N. Imaging of neuroinflammation in migraine with aura: A [11C]PBR28 PET/MRI study. Neurology. 2019 Apr 23;92(17):e2038-e2050. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007371. Epub 2019 Mar 27. — View Citation

Arnold M, Kappeler L, Georgiadis D, Berthet K, Keserue B, Bousser MG, Baumgartner RW. Gender differences in spontaneous cervical artery dissection. Neurology. 2006 Sep 26;67(6):1050-2. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000237341.30854.6a. — View Citation

Ashina S, Bendtsen L, Lyngberg AC, Lipton RB, Hajiyeva N, Jensen R. Prevalence of neck pain in migraine and tension-type headache: a population study. Cephalalgia. 2015 Mar;35(3):211-9. doi: 10.1177/0333102414535110. Epub 2014 May 22. — View Citation

Beaton-Starr M, Rist PM, Connor JP, Wayne PM, Osypiuk K, Bernstein C. Development and Implementation of the Integrative Toolbox for Headache Management. Headache. 2020 Apr;60(4):771-775. doi: 10.1111/head.13743. Epub 2020 Jan 9. — View Citation

Befus DR, Hull S, Strand de Oliveira J, Schmidler GS, Weinberger M, Coeytaux RR. Nonpharmacological Self-Management of Migraine Across Social Locations: An Equity-Oriented, Qualitative Analysis. Glob Adv Health Med. 2019 Jun 13;8:2164956119858034. doi: 10.1177/2164956119858034. eCollection 2019. — View Citation

Bernstein C, Wayne PM, Rist PM, Osypiuk K, Hernandez A, Kowalski M. Integrating Chiropractic Care Into the Treatment of Migraine Headaches in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Case Series. Glob Adv Health Med. 2019 Mar 28;8:2164956119835778. doi: 10.1177/2164956119835778. eCollection 2019. — View Citation

Connor JP, Bernstein C, Kilgore K, Rist PM, Osypiuk K, Kowalski M, Wayne PM. Perceptions of Chiropractic Care Among Women With Migraine: A Qualitative Substudy Using a Grounded-Theory Framework. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2021 Feb;44(2):154-163. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2020.07.001. Epub 2021 Jan 9. — View Citation

Lisi AJ, Brandt CA. Trends in the Use and Characteristics of Chiropractic Services in the Department of Veterans Affairs. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2016 Jun;39(5):381-386. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2016.04.005. — View Citation

Rist PM, Bernstein C, Kowalski M, Osypiuk K, Connor JP, Vining R, Long CR, Macklin EA, Wayne PM. Multimodal chiropractic care for migraine: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Cephalalgia. 2021 Mar;41(3):318-328. doi: 10.1177/0333102420963844. Epub 2020 Oct 13. — View Citation

Rist PM, Buring JE, Ridker PM, Kase CS, Kurth T, Rexrode KM. Lipid levels and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke among women. Neurology. 2019 May 7;92(19):e2286-e2294. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007454. Epub 2019 Apr 10. — View Citation

Rist PM, Hernandez A, Bernstein C, Kowalski M, Osypiuk K, Vining R, Long CR, Goertz C, Song R, Wayne PM. The Impact of Spinal Manipulation on Migraine Pain and Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Headache. 2019 Apr;59(4):532-542. doi: 10.1111/head.13501. Epub 2019 Mar 14. — View Citation

Wayne PM, Bernstein C, Kowalski M, Connor JP, Osypiuk K, Long CR, Vining R, Macklin E, Rist PM. The Integrative Migraine Pain Alleviation through Chiropractic Therapy (IMPACT) trial: Study rationale, design and intervention validation. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2020 Jan 22;17:100531. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2020.100531. eCollection 2020 Mar. — View Citation

Wayne PM, Buring JE, Davis RB, Connors EM, Bonato P, Patritti B, Fischer M, Yeh GY, Cohen CJ, Carroll D, Kiel DP. Tai Chi for osteopenic women: design and rationale of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2010 Mar 1;11:40. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-11-40. — View Citation

Wayne PM, Gagnon MM, Macklin EA, Travison TG, Manor B, Lachman M, Thomas CP, Lipsitz LA. The Mind Body-Wellness in Supportive Housing (Mi-WiSH) study: Design and rationale of a cluster randomized controlled trial of Tai Chi in senior housing. Contemp Clin Trials. 2017 Sep;60:96-104. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2017.07.005. Epub 2017 Jul 8. — View Citation

Wayne PM, Manor B, Novak V, Costa MD, Hausdorff JM, Goldberger AL, Ahn AC, Yeh GY, Peng CK, Lough M, Davis RB, Quilty MT, Lipsitz LA. A systems biology approach to studying Tai Chi, physiological complexity and healthy aging: design and rationale of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2013 Jan;34(1):21-34. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2012.09.006. Epub 2012 Sep 29. — View Citation

* Note: There are 15 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Recruitment feasibility (average number of participants per month)	Each site will be able to recruit 30 participants within 16 months	16 months
Primary	Retention feasibility (proportion of participants not lost to follow-up)	Retention will be quantified by the proportion of subjects who record their migraines for at least 26 out of 28 days and all questionnaires at each outcome assessment.	20 weeks
Primary	Intervention adherence feasibility	Adherence will be calculated as the proportion of subjects who attend at least 80% of the chiropractic care visits or 80% of the one-on-one headache health education video-conferences.	15 weeks
Primary	Number of days with migraine headaches	Number of migraine headaches as recorded in migraine diaries; this will be the primary clinical outcome.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Proportion of responders	Proportion of individuals who experience a =50% reduction in migraine days.	Change from baseline to initial follow-up (16 weeks) and change from baseline to final follow-up (20 weeks).
Secondary	Average severity of migraine attacks	Average severity of migraine attacks (on a 1 to 10 scale) as recorded in migraine diaries.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Average number of hours for a migraine attack (duration)	Average number of hours a migraine attack lasted as recorded in migraine diaries.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Average number of medications used for a migraine attack	Average number of medications used to treat a migraine attack as recorded in migraine diaries	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Neck Disability Index (NDI)	Self-report questionnaire used to determine how neck pain impacts daily activities of living and self-related neck pain disability.; Score range: 10 - 60. Higher scores indicate greater disability.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Headache Related Disability (HIT-6)	HIT-6 is a validated 6-item assessment that evaluates the impact headaches have on a participant's life. Score range: 36 - 78. Higher scores indicate greater disability.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire, version 2.1 (MSQv2.1)	Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire, version 2.1 (MSQv2.1) is a validated 14-item questionnaire; it is one of the most frequently used disability instrument in migraine research and is highly reliable.; Participants are asked to provide their response to each question using a standard six point Likert-type scale (none of the time; a little bit of the time; some of the time; a good bit of the time; most of the time; all of the time). Each MSQoL v.2.1 dimension is scored independently from 0 to 100 such that a higher score indicates a better quality of life.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29)	PROMIS-29 is a system of validated, highly reliable, precise measures of patient-reported health status for physical, mental, and social well-being.; PROMIS-29 v2. 0 profile measure assesses pain intensity using a single 0-10 numeric rating item and seven health domains (physical function, fatigue, pain interference, depressive symptoms, anxiety, ability to participate in social roles and activities, and sleep disturbance) using four items for each domain.The patients' answers to the PROMIS-29 are scored from 1-5 (with the exception of the NRS). The sum of the PROMIS results in the raw score, which lies between 4 and 20. There is no total score, but each axis forms its own score.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)	20-item self-report measure of the DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD. Score range: 0 - 5. Higher scores are associated with greater likelihood of PTSD.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ)	Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire will be used to measure the amount and intensity of general exercise during the study period. This validated instrument consists of 4 items measuring the frequency of light, moderate, and vigorous-intensity leisure-time physical activity. In the GLTEQ, individuals are asked to complete a self-explanatory, brief four-item query of usual leisure-time exercise habits.; Higher score indicate more leisure-time exercise per week.	Assess during three 4-week periods (baseline, initial follow-up, final follow-up) within the total of 24 weeks that participants are enrolled in the trial.
Secondary	The Expectations for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments Questionnaire short form (EXPECT)	EXPECT Questionnaire (short form) is a recently developed and validated questionnaire used to assess individuals' expectations of treatments for chronic pain.; Score range: 0 - 40. Higher scores indicate higher expectation of recovery after treatment.	Assess only at baseline following the 4 weeks run-in phase but before randomization.