Dry Needling for Cervicogenic Headache

Youngstown State University

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Headache

Treatments: Other: Dry Needling; Other: Sham Dry Needling

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05140291

2022-6

Details and patient eligibility

About

Currently, it is unknown if dry needling when performed to the trigeminal innervation field improves neck pain and or headache for patients with cervicogenic headaches. The aim of this study is to determine if dry needling of the trigeminal innervation field improves pain, pain-pressure thresholds, and neck mobility in patients with cervicogenic headaches, with or without migraine.

Full description

Dry needling is a widely used intervention performed by physical therapists for a wide range of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. Dry needling has been shown to be beneficial for cervicogenic headaches but treatment is typically applied to the neck. It is well-established that cervical pain can upregulate the trigeminal nerve and vice versa in various forms of headaches. Thus, it is plausable that reducing inflammation and irritation of the trigeminal nerve may in fact reduce neck pain and impairments. This study aims to look investigate whether dry needling the trigeminal innervation field will reduce pain and impairments known to exist in patients with cervicogenic headaches compared to a sham comparator. The study is a pilot trial for a larger RCT and will look at immediate effects only.

Enrollment: 30 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 or older
• Symptoms: (1)Unilateral pain starting in the neck and radiating to the frontotemporal region or posterior fossa, (2) pain aggravated by neck movement, (3) restricted cervical range of motion, (4) non-throbbing and non-lancinatingnpain, 5) dysfunction/headache pain in at least one of the joints of the upper cervical spine(C0-C4), and (6) headache frequency of at least 1 per week over a period greater than 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria

• Pain <2/10
• Contraindications to the interventions
• Whiplash associated disorder within 6 weeks
• Pending litigation for neck pain and/or headache.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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30 participants in 2 patient groups

Dry needling

Experimental group

Description:

Experimental Group

Treatment:

Other: Dry Needling

Sham Needling

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Sham Group

Treatment:

Other: Sham Dry Needling