Relação entre cefaleia tensional e anteriorização da cabeça entre mulheres jovens

Abstract

The head anteriorization posture is one of the most commonly found postural abnormalities and may be related to several dysfunctions such as musculoskeletal disorders, pain and limitation of cervical range of motion (ROM), temporomandibular dysfunction and headaches. In the literature, there are several studies and discussions that point to the incidence of migraine and/or episodic or chronic tension-type headache with changes in skull positioning; among them, the increase in the cranio-cervical angle is the most recurrent. Objective: This study aimed to identify the relationship between tension-type headache and the presence or absence of head anteriorization in young women between 18 and 35 years old. In addition, it aimed to relate the presence or not of head anteriorization with the worsening of tension-type headache symptoms, occurrence of associated symptoms, time of screen use and sitting posture maintenance, visual difficulties and practice of physical activity. Method: For the development of the study, we used questionnaires made available through a Google® form to classify the type of headache of the volunteers, being the presence of tension-type headache one of the inclusion criteria. The volunteers who were classified as having tension-type headache were invited to perform a postural analysis by means of photogrammetry using the Postural assessment software (PAS), and for this analysis the anatomical points of the earlobe and the spine of the seventh cervical vertebra were used to take photos in the sagittal plane on the right side of the volunteer for analysis of the cranial vertebral angle value. Results: 72 responses to the online questionnaire were initially obtained. After exclusions according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study, 25 volunteers remained suitable for the postural evaluation. Of these, 10 volunteers who agreed to participate in the second stage of the research were evaluated. The volunteers were divided into two groups according to the results of the postural evaluation: group without head anteriorization (G1), with n=4 and group with head anteriorization (G2), with n=6. Analyzing the results, it was found that the presence of head anteriorization was not related to an increase in headache intensity. Moreover, no statistical relationship was demonstrated between associated symptoms, frequency of physical activity, pain characteristics, difficulty to see and the use of glasses with head anteriorization. However, a statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between head anteriorization and the time of screen use, since it was found that after 5 hours of screen exposure the risks of developing head anteriorization are greater. Conclusion: It was not possible to state in the present study a statistically significant relationship between the occurrence of tension-type 6 headache and the occurrence of anteriorization of the head in young women, since the sample analyzed had a restricted n. There was also no relationship between the associated symptomatology, the characteristics of the pain, the use of prescription glasses, the time spent sitting, the intensity and duration of the pain, the practice of physical activity and its frequency. In the study, only the time spent using screens showed an increase in the chances of developing anteriorization of the head and, consequently, tension-type headache. Even so, it is suggested that studies with a larger sample be carried out to better evaluate the topics that were discussed in the present study.