Effects of Exercise and Relaxation Techniques on Tension Headache Pain Parameters of University Students (ERTTHU)

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Status: Completed

Conditions: Tension-Type Headache

Treatments: Behavioral: Combined treatment Autogenic Training + Cervical exercises and postural correction; Behavioral: Relaxation technique Autogenic Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02264340

F(EFP)-003/2010

Details and patient eligibility

About

Tension headache is a common disabling disease and a worldwide public health problem. This research tries to demonstrate the efficacy of physical therapy, based on cervical training and postural self-correction instructions, which aims to increase the positive results obtained from traditional relaxation techniques (Schultz Autogenic Training). University students are selected, because headaches are very common in this sector of the population. The design is a non-pharmacological randomized controlled trial, with blinded evaluation of the response variables. The investigators compare two independent samples. One of them receives an only treatment (Autogenic Training) and the other group receives a combined program (Autogenic Training + specific cervical exercises and postural correction). Pain parameters (frequency, intensity and duration) and drug consumption are measured before treatment, and then, at 4 weeks and 3 months, to value the results.

Enrollment: 152 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 25 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• College students of Complutense University of Madrid, diagnosed with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headache (according to the criteria of International Headache Society (IHS)).

Exclusion criteria

• Cases with other headaches
• Students with excessive state anxiety and / or trait anxiety (≥ 85 percentile, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory )
• Students that had received treatment for tension headache, based on physical exercise or relaxation techniques, in the last 6 months.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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152 participants in 2 patient groups

Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

Relaxation technique

Treatment:

Behavioral: Relaxation technique Autogenic Training

Experimental

Experimental group

Description:

Combined treatment

Treatment:

Behavioral: Combined treatment Autogenic Training + Cervical exercises and postural correction