Is kinesiophobia related to fear of falling, dizziness disability, and migraine disability in patients with migraine?

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Kinesiophobia is a common symptom associated with high disability, and has been observed in patients with migraine. However, the association between kinesiophobia and clinical factors in this population is unknown.

Objective

To assess the fear of falling, dizziness disability, and migraine disability in patients with migraine, considering the presence of kinesiophobia.

Methods

Eighty patients with migraine completed the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia and were divided into two groups according to the questionnaire cutoff point: migraine without kinesiophobia (MoK, n = 39) and migraine with kinesiophobia (MK, n = 41). Fear of falling, dizziness disability, and migraine disability were assessed in both groups using validated questionnaires.

Results

The MK group presented higher scores on dizziness disability, fear of falling, and migraine disability compared to the MoK (p < .05). Kinesiophobia can explain 29% of the variance in dizziness disability and 18% of migraine disability. Both kinesiophobia and the presence of dizziness can explain 14% of fear of falling variability. Also, kinesiophobia is associated with the risk of presenting fear of falling (Prevalence Ratio = 2.4, p = .012), and migraine disability (Prevalence Ratio = 2.6, p = .01).

Conclusion

The presence of kinesiophobia should be considered in clinical practice when evaluating migraine, as it is associated with increased levels of fear of falling, dizziness disability, and migraine disability.

KEYWORDS:

• Fear-avoidance
• dizziness
• disability
• falls
• headache

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the clinical team of Craniofacial Pain and Headache clinic from Headache Clinics of Ribeirão Preto General Hospital.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, and by FAPESP Foundation under Grant number [2018/23832-5].