Mangement of Cervicogenic Headache by Maual Therapy

NCT07310823 | Enrolling By Invitation DMC

• 1 other identifier: CGH mangment
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 57
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to investigate immediate and short-term effect of combining suboccipital myofascial release with Maitland mobilization techniques on headache intensity, duration, and frequency, CFRT, upper cervical ROM, general neck mobility, and PPT of upper trapezius and suboccipital muscles.

Conditions

Cervicogenic Headache; Neck Pain Musculoskeletal

Keywords

cervicogenic headache; suboccipital myofacial release; maitland mobilization; neck pain; CROM

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• headache intensity

  headache intensity Description: headache intensity which represent the primary outcome by using numerical analogue scale for measure intensity before treatment and one week post treatment

  Time Frame: before treatment and one week after treatment

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Headache Frequency Headache Duration Cervical Flexion Rotation Test Neck Mobility Assessment Pressure Pain Threshold

  Headache Frequency and headache duration before and one week after treatment. Cervical Flexion Rotation Test and Mobility Assessment and Pressure Pain Threshold measurement before and after and one week post treatment

Study Arms (3)

Group A (Suboccipital Myofascial Release)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Patients in this group will receive suboccipital myofascial release therapy for one session.

Other: suboccipital myofacial release

Group B (Maitland Mobilization)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Patients in this group will receive Maitland mobilization therapy for one session.

Other: maitland mobilization

Group C (Combined Group)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Patients in this group will receive both techniques; suboccipital myofascial release therapy then Maitland mobilization for one session.

Other: combined myofacsial release with maitland mobilization

Interventions

suboccipital myofacial release OTHER

one session of myofacial release for suboccipital muscle

Group A (Suboccipital Myofascial Release)

maitland mobilization OTHER

one session of upper cervical vertebral grade one and two mobilization

Group B (Maitland Mobilization)

combined myofacsial release with maitland mobilization OTHER

one session of myofacsial release and maitland mobilization for upper cervical and suboccipital muscle

Group C (Combined Group)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Each patient will be included in our study if only he/she meets all of the following criteria:
• Age between 20- 40 year.
• No physiotherapy intervention at least for the last three months (Mohamed et al., 2019).
• Neck pain elicited and disturbed by neck movement or maintained position pain produced by pressure over upper cervical (Dunning et al.,2021).
• Limited neck motion with flexion and rotation test less than or equal 32 degree on both right and left side (Dunning et al.,2021).
• Patients suffered from intermittent headaches of varying duration and pain level at least once every week through the last 3 months (Hall et al., 2010; Khalil., et al 2019).
• The patient will be excluded if he /she meets one of the following criteria:
• Physical therapy intervention during last three months (Mohamed et al., 2019).
• Primary headaches such as migraine or tension type headache (Mohammadi et al.,2021).
• Cervical radiculopathy, history of neck trauma and previous surgery at neck or shoulder, spondylosis (Mohammadi et al.,2021).
• Vertebrobasilar insufficiency or vestibular dysfunctions (Mohamed et al., 2019).
• Any degenerative vertebral lesion (Shabbir et al., 2021).
• Concomitant medical diagnosis of any primary headache (tension type or migraine) (Shabbir et al., 2021).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Cairo University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Cairo university faculty of physical therapy

Giza, Egypt

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Verma S, Tripathi M, Chandra PS. Cervicogenic Headache: Current Perspectives. Neurol India. 2021 Mar-Apr;69(Supplement):S194-S198. doi: 10.4103/0028-3886.315992.

  PMID: 34003165 RESULT

• Priyanka, D. A. T. (2023). A Literature Review to Find the Effectiveness of Suboccipital Myofascial Release Technique in Reducing Cervicogenic Headache. Int J Sci Res, 12(4).

  RESULT

• Lerner-Lentz A, O'Halloran B, Donaldson M, Cleland JA. Pragmatic application of manipulation versus mobilization to the upper segments of the cervical spine plus exercise for treatment of cervicogenic headache: a randomized clinical trial. J Man Manip Ther. 2021 Oct;29(5):267-275. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2020.1834322. Epub 2020 Nov 5.

  PMID: 33148134 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Post-Traumatic Headache; Neck Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Headache Disorders, Secondary; Headache Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• . MAHA MOSTAFA MOHAMMED ALIBEINY, ASS.PROF

  cairo uneversity faculty of physical therapy

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Msc candidate, orthopedic physical therapy department , cairo university

Model Details: A randomized controlled trial in which patients will be randomly assigned into three equal groups (19 patients per group) via the RANDOM.ORG method. Each group will receive a specific physical therapy management according the following: * Group A (Suboccipital Myofascial Release): Patients in this group will receive suboccipital myofascial release therapy for one session. * Group B (Maitland Mobilization): Patients in this group will receive Maitland mobilization therapy for one session. * Group C (Combined Group): Patients in this group will receive both techniques; suboccipital myofascial release therapy then Maitland mobilization for one session.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 16, 2025
• First Posted: December 30, 2025
• Study Start: December 20, 2025
• Primary Completion: January 30, 2026
• Study Completion: February 1, 2026
• Last Updated: December 30, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

EG (1)