Spinal Posture as a Trigger for Episodic Headache within a biopsychosocial context? An explorative study

Diagnosing and treating episodic headache is seriously hampered because of common features and complex interactions of the neurological and musculoskeletal system. Current therapies are therefore not as effective and the population of patients with episodic headache keeps on increasing. The diagnostic as well as the therapeutic process need more structure in order to select the most effective treatment. Therefore headache determinants should be analysed. This goal can be achieved through fundamental research with a clinically oriented background. Because sitting-posture is hypothesized  to play an important role in some episodic headaches, the first step is to justify spinal posture as a possible trigger for episodic headache. Several pathways might support such a peripheral trigger enhanced or not by psychosocial factors. 3D motion analysis, algometry and psychosocial measurements before, during and after a provocation task are used to propose a patient profile.