title: Self-reported efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine: the Akershus study of chronic headache.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic headache is associated with disability and high utilisation of health care including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We investigated self-reported efficacy of CAM in people with chronic headache from the general population. Respondents with possible self-reported chronic headache were interviewed by physicians experienced in headache diagnostics. CAM queried included acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, naprapathy, physiotherapy, psychological treatment, and psychomotor physiotherapy. Sixty-two % and 73% of those with primary and secondary chronic headache had used CAM.Self-reported efficacy of CAM ranged from 0-43% without significant differences between gender, headache diagnoses, co-occurrence of migraine, medication use or physician contact.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CAM is widely used, despite self-reported efficacy of different CAM modalities is modest in the management of chronic headache.
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Research Group, Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway. e.s.kristoffersen@medisin.uio.no
authors.forename: Espen Saxhaug
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Kristoffersen
authors.forename: Kjersti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aaseth
authors.forename: Ragnhild Berling
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Grande
authors.forename: Christofer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lundqvist
authors.forename: Michael Bjørn
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D020773:Headache Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D057566:Self Report