Combined exercise improved headache impact more than aerobic exercise alone
A randomized trial found different advantages for each exercise program, while leaving the size of the benefits unclear.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In women with tension-type headache, a combined program of aerobic, strengthening and stretching exercise produced greater improvement on the headache impact questionnaire than aerobic exercise alone. Aerobic exercise produced larger gains in exercise capacity. Both groups improved on several measures, but the abstract does not provide effect sizes to show how large these differences were.
The results report a quality-of-life advantage for combined exercise, yet the conclusion calls self-reported outcomes similarly effective. This inconsistency and missing effect sizes limit interpretation of the abstract.
What researchers found
Headache impact questionnaire score
Combined exercise versus aerobic exercise alone over 12 weeks; the abstract reports statistical significance but gives no score difference.
What changed in each group
Both programs were followed by improvements in pain, disability, anxiety, depression and other measures. Changes within each group do not establish that the programs were equally effective, especially without numerical estimates for the direct comparisons.
Different outcomes favored different programs
The combined program had advantages in pressure pain threshold, body-position sense, muscle strength and posture. Aerobic exercise had an advantage in exercise capacity, so the results do not point to the same program for every measured outcome.
The original publication
The Efficacy of Structured Exercise Program Versus Aerobic Exercise in Tension-Type Headache: A Randomised Clinical Trial.
Ataş K, Mutlu EK
Eur J Pain · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41376179
- Record checked
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