Dry Needling Versus Dry Cupping on Pain and Disability in Cervicogenic Headache Patients

Launched by CAIRO UNIVERSITY · Nov 13, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying the effects of two treatment methods, dry needling and dry cupping, to see how they help with pain and disability in people who suffer from cervicogenic headaches, which are headaches caused by issues in the neck. The goal is to find out if adding these treatments to standard physical therapy can improve headache pain intensity, how often headaches happen, how long they last, and the overall ability to move the neck comfortably.

To participate in this study, individuals need to be between 25 and 45 years old and have been experiencing headaches at least once a week for more than two months, along with neck, shoulder, or arm pain. They should not have had any physiotherapy treatments in the last three months. Participants will follow specific instructions throughout the study and will be evaluated under the same conditions to ensure fairness. This trial is not yet recruiting, so keep an eye out for updates if you think you might qualify!

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• * The patients will be included in our study if they meet the following criteria:
• • Age between 25-45 years old for both genders.
• • No physiotherapy intervention for the last three months.
• • Intermittent headaches of varying duration and pain level at the rate of one headache per week for greater than 2 months.
• • Ipsilateral neck, shoulder, or arm pain.
• • Provocation of usual head pain by neck movement, sustained awkward neck positions or external pressure over the upper cervical or occipital region on the symptomatic side.
• • Limited neck ROM \> 10 degrees confirmed by a positive Flexion Rotation Test.
• • Active trigger points (TrPs) within the suboccipital, upper trapezius or sternocleidomastoid muscles.
• The diagnosis of active TrPs will be based on the major criteria proposed by):
• • Presence of a palpable taut band in a skeletal muscle
• • presence of a hypersensitive point in the taut band
• • local twitch response elicited by the snapping palpation of the taut band
• • reproduction of the referred pain in response to compression
• • patient recognition of the referred pain as a familiar symptom
• Exclusion Criteria:
• * The patients will be excluded if they have:
• • Cervical radiculopathy.
• • History of neck, shoulder trauma or surgery.
• • Physical therapy intervention in the neck and shoulder region in the previous 3 months.
• • Vertebrobasilar insufficiency or vestibular dysfunctions.
• • Evidence of cognitive deficits.
• • Presence of any needle contraindication.
• • Presence of any cupping contraindication.