Clinical Effectiveness of Craniosacral Therapy in Patients with Headache Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy in improving pain and disability among patients with headache disorders.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources: PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Osteopathic Medicine Digital Library databases were searched in March 2023.

Review methods: Two independent reviewers searched the databases and extracted data from randomized controlled trials comparing craniosacral therapy with control or sham interventions. The same reviewers assessed the methodological quality and the risk of bias using the PEDro scale and the Cochrane Collaboration tool, respectively. Grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluations was used to rate the certainty of the evidence. Meta-analyses were conducted using random effects models using RevMan 5.4 software.

Results: The searches retrieved 735 studies, and four studies were finally included. The craniosacral therapy provided statistically significant but clinically unimportant change on pain intensity (Mean difference = -1.10; 95% CI: -1.85, -0.35; I²: 44%), and no change on disability or headache effect (Standardized Mean Difference = -0.34; 95% CI -0.70, 0.01; I²: 26%). The certainty of the evidence was downgraded to very low.

Conclusion: Very low certainty of evidence suggests that craniosacral therapy produces clinically unimportant effects on pain intensity, whereas no significant effects were observed in disability or headache effect.

Keywords: Complementary Therapies; Disability Evaluation; Headache; Meta-analysis; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Neck pain; Systematic Review.