Pericranial muscle tenderness in a population based sample of chronic tension-type headache. The Akershus study of chronic headache

Abstract

Methods This is a cross-sectional population-based study. An ageand sex-stratified sample of 30,000 persons, aged 30–44 years, residing in eastern Akershus County was in 2005 drawn from the National Personal Registry. The study population received a posted questionnaire. Those with self-reported chronic headache were invited to Akershus University Hospital. All headaches were classified according to the explicit diagnostic criteria of the ICHD-II. The response rate to the questionnaire was 71%, and the rate of participation in the interview was 74%. A total tenderness score (TTS) was used to investigate pericranial tissue tenderness. 8 pairs of muscles and tendon insertions were palpated. The 4-point (0-3) scale at each location and values from left and right sides were summed to a total score. For comparison, cross-sectional data from the Danish general population using the same instruments were used. Results Those with CTTH had a high TTS compared with the general population. In males, the TTS decreased significanly with age. In women, a significant relationship between headache intensity and TTS was found. Parameters like headache frequency, duration, co-occurrence of medication overuse and migraine had no significant influence on the TTS.