Correlation between kinesiophobia, muscle strength and neck endurance in patients with migraine

Abstract

Introduction
Migraine is a highly disabling primary headache that can be accompanied by pain and musculoskeletal dysfunction in the cervical region. These individuals with cervical musculoskeletal dysfunction present a greater tendency toward fear and catastrophic thoughts and a greater risk of migraine chronification, developing behaviors such as hypervigilance in order to avoid further injury presenting the fear of movement which can be characterized as kinesiophobia. Kinesiophobia is defined as an "irrational and devastating fear of movement, arising from a belief in the fragility of injury or a fear of re-injury." In addition, kinesiophobia can also be characterized as a fear of symptoms of fatigue or exhaustion, physical or mental discomfort. Individuals with cervical musculoskeletal dysfunctions are more prone to fear and catastrophic thoughts, and have a higher risk of migraine chronification, as well as an overreaction to actual or potential threats, developing behaviors such as hypervigilance in order to avoid further injury. The Kinesiophobia is a prevalent condition in individuals with migraine and the association between the presence of migraine and kinesiophobia has recently been investigated. However, it is not yet known whether there is a correlation between muscle strength and cervical endurance with kinesiophobia.

Objective
To evaluate the correlation between muscle strength and neck muscle endurance with kinesiophobia in patients with migraine.

Methods

Were included 70 women aged between 18 and 55 years, with a mean age of 31 years (SD=9.35; CI=2.19), and a mean body mass index of 23.5 (SD=3.63; CI= 0.85), diagnosed according to the 3rd edition of the ICHD-3. Regarding the clinical characteristics of these patients, they presented headache onset at 14.5 years (SD=9.57; CI=2.24), a frequency of 12 days in the month (SD=9.74; CI=2.28), the intensity of 8/10 on the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) (SD=1.60; CI=0.37). (To see the complete abstract, please, check out the PDF).