Treatment of Tension Headache Using Soft Tissue Techniques VS Vagus Stimulation Techniques.

Summary

A treatment based on manual therapy and vagus nerve stimulation is more effective than manual therapy only to reduce frequency, intensity and pressure pain threshold in patients with tension type headache.

Conditions

• Chronic Tension-Type Headache
• Episodic Tension-Type Headache

Interventions

OTHER

Suboccipital inhibition

The therapist will place his hands under the patient's head, making contact with the suboccipital muscles in the region of the posterior arch of the atlas, applying progressive and deep pressure. This pressure will be maintained for 10 minutes

OTHER

Ischemic pressure

Pressures will be made on the temporal, superior trapezius, masseter and sternocleidomastoid muscles. Physical therapist will apply gradual sustained finger pressure to the muscle's active trigger points for 5-15 seconds. The therapist will begin with light firm pressure and gradually increase the pressure until the patient feels a "moderate but bearable" level of pain (corresponding to a level 7 on a pain scale of 1 to 10 levels where 1 indicates no pain and 10 is excruciating pain). Pressure will remain at this level until pain levels decrease to level 3. The therapist will repeat this procedure approximately 3-4 times over a 90 second period.

OTHER

Passive stretching

Passive stretches will be applied to each muscle 2 times for 30 seconds, they will be performed slowly at the rate of the patient's normal breathing and checking that no compensations appear.

OTHER

Diaphragmatic breathing exercice

To perform diaphragmatic breaths, there will first be an education on how to do them. The patient will lie supine, with the hips and knees semi-flexed. The therapist will ask you to place one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen. Successively, it will ask you to take a few deep breaths, inhaling through your nose for 2 seconds and exhaling through your mouth, with your lips pursed (almost closed) for 4 seconds, helping you to maintain the rhythm of your breath by counting out loud. The patient should note that during inspiration his hand on top of the chest does not rise (the chest remains still) and during expiration that his hand on top of the abdomen goes down (the abdomen sinks).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lucia Trullenque Espallargas

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• ALEJANDRO FERRAGUT, DOCTOR · Universidad Alcalá de Henares

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-11-01

Primary Completion

2021-12-01

Completion

2021-12-01

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations