INTRODUCTION: Headache is a common, incapacitating disorder for which manual and exercises therapy is often used. The objectives of this research project are to assess the effectiveness of manual and exercise therapy for cervicogenic headache, tension-type headache and migraine in adults. METHOD: Searches were conducted in electronic databases, unpublished literature, grey literature and trial registers from 1995 to March 2014. The effectiveness review was restricted to randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data were extracted on pre-piloted forms. Quality assessment of RCTs was conducted by a validated combination of modified PEDro scores and a matrix for narrative literature synthesis. RESULTS: 15 RCTs (1,449 patients) met the effectiveness review inclusion criteria. Their quality was variable. Five trials focused on migraine, but constituted insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on effectiveness. Eight studies provided moderate evidence for physiotherapy including exercise therapy in tension-type headache. Two studies focused on cervicogenic headache and found moderate evidence for manual therapy as well as for active therapy. CONCLUSION: Inconsistent to moderate evidence was analyzed for all included headache types for different interventions. This review was based on recently published trials and discovered a trend to active treatment modalities for headache patients.

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