The Efficacy of Tai Chi Training for the Prophylaxis of Migraine in Chinese Women
The Efficacy of Tai Chi Training for the Prophylaxis of Migraine in Chinese Women
The proposed study aims to preliminarily test the effects of a 12-week Tai Chi training on
 the prophylaxis of episodic migraine in Chinese women, and to evaluate the feasibility,
 acceptability, compliance and maintenance of Tai Chi exercise among this population.
Migraine is a disabling neurological condition, characterized by attacks of headache and
 associated symptoms such as photophobia, nausea, and vomiting. In Hong Kong, the overall
 prevalence is around 12.5%. People with repeated migraine attacks are pain and personal
 suffering, have impaired social and personal life, and increased financial cost of
 medication. More nonpharmacologic prophylactic treatments are needed to reduce the high
 disease burden. As a body-mind exercise, Tai Chi's potential therapeutic efficacy on the
 prophylaxis of migraine has caught our attention. The investigators propose to conduct a
 two-arm individual level randomized controlled trial. Local women diagnosed with episodic
 migraine between 18-65 years will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) a Tai Chi
 training ("TC"); or 2) a waiting list control group ("control"). The control group will
 receive a "delayed" Tai Chi training at the end of the trial. A total of 60 participants will
 be randomized and the intervention period will be 12 weeks with another 12-week follow-up.
 Number of attacks per month (frequency of attack), intensity and duration of headache,
 stress, sleep quality and quantity, fatigue, HRQoL, and body composition will be measured at
 baseline and at 12 weeks and 24 weeks. The primary outcomes are the difference in frequency
 of attack from baseline to the 12 weeks after randomization, and the proportion of patients
 with at least a 50% reduction of the number of attacks per month. The intervention effect
 will be estimated by calculating the differences of outcomes from baseline to the end of the
 trial between the intervention and control groups using intention-to-treat analysis.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Female, aged 18-65 years;

 -  Have a clinical diagnosis of episodic migraine according to ICHD-II criteria at least
 2 months prior to enrollment;

 -  At least one of the following migraine characteristics is met: nausea, vomiting,
 photophobia, or phonophobia;

 -  Able to undertake designated level of Tai Chi exercise;

 -  Live in Hong Kong, can read and speak Cantonese or Putonghua.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Severe migraine attacks with disabilities that cannot perform moderate intensity
 physical activity;

 -  Secondary headache and other neurological disease;

 -  More than 5 days of non-migrainous headache per month;

 -  Experience with Tai Chi practice after diagnosis of migraine;

 -  Regular performance of Tai Chi or other body-mind exercises (yoga, biofeedback,
 medication, etc.);

 -  Undergoing other alternative therapeutic treatments during recruitment period, or
 received other alternative therapeutic treatments in the past 12 weeks;

 -  Pregnancy, lactation period, or currently using contraceptives;

 -  Use of pharmacological prophylactic treatment for migraine in the past 12 weeks;

 -  Drug abuse, take antipsychotic or antidepressant drugs, or take analgesics for other
 chronic pain more than 3 days a month in the past 12 weeks;

 -  Epilepsy, or have a psychiatric disease.