Enrolling by invitation NCT07168512
Effect of Myofascial Release Technique Alone or Combined With Exercises on Cervical Cobb Angle, Sleep Quality, and Psychological Factors in Patients With Cervicogenic Headache
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Exercises (Endurance and strengthening), Myofascial release technique.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Effect of Physiotherapy on Cobb Angle in Patients With Cervicogenic Headache. Basic parameters: 20 years — 55 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Palestinian Territories
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
"Myofascial Release With or Without Exercise for Cervicogenic Headache"
Overview
This study will investigate whether myofascial release therapy alone or in combination with therapeutic exercises can improve cervical spine alignment, measured by cervical Cobb angle on X-ray, in patients with cervicogenic headache. The research will also examine potential effects on sleep quality and psychological factors."
Interventions
- Other Exercises (Endurance and strengthening)
Neck Strengthening and Endurance Exercises with Hot Packs Preparation: A moist hot pack will be applied for 10-15 minutes to the cervical region before exercise to reduce stiffness and enhance tissue extensibility. Exercise program: Deep cervical flexor training: Chin tucks in supine and sitting, progressing to sustained isometric holds. Extensor and scapular stabilizer training: Prone head lifts and shoulder retraction exercises with light resistance. Endurance training: Low-load, high-rep - Other Myofascial release technique
Myofascial Release Technique Target areas: Suboccipital muscles, upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and deep cervical fascia. Method: A physiotherapist will perform gentle, sustained manual pressure and low-load, long-duration stretching on restricted cervical and upper thoracic fascia to reduce tension and improve soft tissue mobility. Duration and frequency: Each session will include 30'to 50 minutes of myofascial release, delivered 3 times per week for the study period for 6 weeks. Ration
Primary outcome measures
- Cervical cobb angle [Time frame: pre and post (6 weeks)]
- Cobb angle of cervical spine assessed by X Ray (Lateral) [Time frame: pre , and 8 weeks post physiotherapy intervention]
- Hospital Anxiety and depression scale [Time frame: pre and 8 weeks post physiotherapy interventions]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- sleep quality [Time frame: pre, and 8 weeks post physiotherapy]
- neck disability [Time frame: pre and 8 weeks post physiotherapy interventions]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Age 20-55 years.
- Clinical diagnosis of cervicogenic headache according to International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) criteria (headache attributed to cervical disorder).
Exclusion criteria
- History of major cervical spine pathology such as fracture, dislocation, congenital malformation, tumor, infection, or inflammatory arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis).
- Previous cervical spine surgery or fusion at any level.
- Red flag symptoms indicating serious pathology (e.g., progressive neurological deficit, unexplained weight loss, fever, history of cancer).
- Systemic or neurological disorders that may affect neck function or headache (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease).
- Severe osteoporosis or metabolic bone disease that contraindicates cervical X-ray imaging.
- Vascular disorders such as vertebrobasilar insufficiency or carotid artery disease.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding (due to radiation exposure during cervical radiography).
- Unstable psychiatric conditions (e.g., severe depression, psychosis) that may interfere with participation or adherence.
- Recent physiotherapy or manual therapy targeting the cervical region within the past 6 weeks, or planned during the study outside the protocol.
- Use of botulinum toxin or steroid injections to the neck or head region in the past 6 months.
- Contraindications to manual therapy or exercise (e.g., acute cervical disc herniation, severe myelopathy, unstable cardiovascular disease).
- Inability to understand study procedures, comply with treatment sessions, or provide informed consent.
- Symptoms of migraine, tension-type headache (TTH), or any other headache apart from cervicogenic headache.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
Study locations
Palestinian Territories · 2 centers
- Naser Medical Complex — Gaza
- Ministry of Health — Gaza
Publications
- Cervical Cobb angle, sleep quality and psychological factors in patients with chronic neck pain with and without cervicogenic headache
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07168512 · Al Azhar university, Palestine