Homoeopathic Management of Migraine Without Aura: A Prospective Observational Study Assessing Attack Frequency, Severity, and Disability Over Six Months

Abstract

ABSTRACT Migraine is a chronic primary headache disorder characterised by recurrent attacks of moderate-to-severe unilateral throbbing headache, frequently accompanied by nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia, and associated with substantial disability across occupational and social domains. Individualised homoeopathic prescribing based on the totality of the patient's symptomatic picture — encompassing the precise characteristics of the headache, associated symptoms, triggering factors, and constitutional background — is widely practised for migraine management in India, yet prospective longitudinal data on treatment outcomes using validated migraine-specific instruments are limited. This prospective observational study enrolled 86 adult patients meeting ICHD-3 criteria for migraine without aura at two homoeopathic medical college outpatient departments in Rajasthan, of whom 78 completed six months of individualised homoeopathic treatment and follow-up assessment. Monthly migraine attack frequency, mean attack duration, headache hours per month, mean pain intensity (VAS 0–10), analgesic consumption, and Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) score were recorded at baseline, three months, and six months. Mean monthly attack frequency fell from 7.4 at baseline to 4.2 at three months and 2.3 at six months (68.9% reduction; p < 0.001). Mean pain VAS improved from 7.2 to 3.4 at six months, MIDAS score fell from 28.6 to 9.2, and monthly analgesic consumption fell from 10.8 to 2.4 doses. These findings indicate that individualised homoeopathic treatment is associated with clinically meaningful reductions in migraine frequency, severity, and disability over a six-month treatment period.

KEYWORDS: Homeopathic therapeutics, Migraine without aura, Attack frequency, MIDAS score, Individualised homoeopathy, Headache management, VAS pain score, ICHD-3