Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2003 Nov; 5(6): 441-553.

Alternative Therapies for Headache.

Young WB, Pozo-Rosich P, Paolone MF.

Department of Neurology, Jefferson Headache Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 111 South 11th Street, Gibbon Building, Suite 8130, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. william.b.young@jefferson.edu

Although alternative therapies are widely used for the treatment of headache disorders, physicians often know little about the available options or about the risks and benefits of the treatments their patients may already be using. Alternative treatments or complementary medicine can provide significant benefit for the headache sufferers, be neutral, distract the headache patient from using more effective therapies, or be harmful. Physicians should take a rational, open-minded approach to the use of alternative and complementary headache treatments.