Virtually all of the data in patients with chronic headache is confounded by the mixed use of analgesics, making careful consideration of actual cause and effect virtually impossible to assess.
12.
The Akershus study of chronic headache, a population based cross sectional study of 30, 000 persons aged 30 44 years in Norway, found a one-year prevalence of 0.03 percent in the population.
13.
Despite being associated with depression, antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, have been found to effectively treat " near-daily headaches " and numerous chronic pain conditions as well as improving mood and sleep two possible triggers for chronic headache sufferers.
14.
Various pathophysiological abnormalities have been reported and they seem to have an important role in initiating and maintaining chronic headache ( genetic disposition, receptor and enzyme physiology and regulation, psychological and behavioural factors, physical dependencies, recent functional imaging results ).
15.
A 2012 meta-analysis conducted by the Acupuncture Trialists'Collaboration found " relatively modest " efficiency of acupuncture ( in comparison to sham ) for the treatment of four different types of chronic pain ( back and neck pain, knee osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain ) and on that basis concluded that it " is more than a placebo " and a reasonable referral option.
