What is it about?
Headache disorders affect millions of people worldwide and place a major burden on both individuals and healthcare systems. Physiotherapy is often used to help manage headaches, but it remains unclear whether it can also reduce healthcare costs. This review examined studies investigating the economic value of physiotherapy in headache management. Only a small number of studies were found, and most included physiotherapy as part of a broader multidisciplinary treatment approach. Some studies reported reductions in medication use, healthcare visits, hospital admissions, and work absence after treatment. However, the current evidence is still insufficient to determine whether physiotherapy itself leads to meaningful cost savings in headache care. More high-quality research and formal economic evaluations are needed to better understand the clinical and economic benefits of physiotherapy interventions for people with headache disorders.
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Why is it important?
Headache disorders are among the leading causes of disability worldwide and are associated with substantial healthcare and societal costs, including medication use, healthcare consultations, hospital admissions, and reduced work productivity. Physiotherapy is increasingly used in headache management because it may improve pain, function, and quality of life. Understanding whether physiotherapy can also reduce healthcare costs is important for patients, clinicians, healthcare systems, and policy makers. Economic evaluations can help determine whether physiotherapy provides good value for money and supports sustainable healthcare decision-making. This is particularly relevant given the growing pressure on healthcare systems and the need for effective, accessible, and cost-conscious treatment strategies for people living with headache disorders.
Perspectives
This review highlights an important but often overlooked question in headache care: not only whether physiotherapy works clinically, but also whether it represents an efficient use of healthcare resources. From a clinical perspective, physiotherapy may help reduce headache-related disability, medication use, and the impact of headaches on daily functioning. From a healthcare perspective, understanding the economic value of physiotherapy is increasingly important as healthcare systems face growing financial and workforce pressures. The findings of this review suggest that physiotherapy could contribute to more sustainable headache care, particularly when integrated within multidisciplinary management approaches. However, the limited number of high-quality economic studies demonstrates that this field remains underexplored. Future research should focus on identifying which physiotherapy approaches provide the greatest clinical benefit while remaining cost-effective for patients and healthcare systems.
Sarah Mingels
Associatie KU Leuven
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Economic value of physiotherapy interventions in headache management: a scoping review, BMC Health Services Research, May 2026, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-14701-0.
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