Research, Sisc prize awarded to Neuromed on the migraine-musculoskeletal dysfunction link

2023-10-11 15:03:14

Many migraine patients report occipital pain during attacks, and many migraine sufferers have musculoskeletal dysfunction in the cervico-occipital region. The research that investigated a relationship between musculoskeletal dysfunction and occipital migraine was awarded during the Congress of the Italian Society for the Study of Headaches (Sisc) in L’Aquila. Luciano D’Ambrosio received the recognition for his oral communication, among the three best of the event, representing the Headache Center of the Irccs Neuromed of Pozzilli (Isernia), whose authors include Armando Perrotta and Anna Ambrosini, center manager and Sisc secretary. The award takes on particular importance – we read in a note – in relation to the fact that the Sisc is the most important Italian scientific society in the field of headaches and is characterized by a marked multidisciplinarity, given that it brings together specialists and healthcare workers from every field.

In the study – which opens up new potential diagnostic techniques and therapies – attention was focused on the possible relationship between the localization of migraine headache in the occipital region, the area located in the posterior part of the skull and the presence of musculoskeletal dysfunctions in the adjacent regions . Musculoskeletal dysfunctions are those disorders related to muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and other parts of the musculoskeletal system, and often manifest themselves with pain, stiffness or limitation of movement. Starting from clinical observation, the team tried to determine whether there was a correlation between this specific location of pain and musculoskeletal dysfunctions in the same area.

Using a sample of 141 subjects and a series of standardized clinical tests, a greater prevalence of musculoskeletal dysfunctions was found among patients who describe pain with a predominantly occipital location, a possible expression of sensitization in the functional and anatomical circuit that connects the cervical roots superior and the nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, the so-called trigemino-cervical complex. This discovery – concludes the note – could have significant implications, influencing future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.