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

NCT ID: NCT05097300

Last Updated: 2021-10-28

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

42 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-11-01

Study Completion Date

2021-12-01

Brief Summary

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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.

Detailed Description

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Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups:

* Experimental group, to which soft tissue techniques and vagus nerve stimulation techniques will be applied.
* Control group, to which only soft tissue techniques are applied. Treatment will consist of four sessions, with an interval of seven days between them, for both study groups. Each session with a duration of 20 minutes for both groups.

In the control group, treatment using soft techniques will consist of the application of manual techniques that have already been shown to have some efficacy in other studies.

Conditions

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Chronic Tension-Type Headache Episodic Tension-Type Headache

Keywords

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Tension type headache Manual therapy Vagus nerve stimulation

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Study Groups

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Manual therapy and vagus nerve stimulation group

Patients will recibe 4 sessions, each of the duration of 20 minutes. Manual therapy consist in: suboccipital inhibition (during 10 minutes) and ischemic pressure and passive stretching of three muscles (superior trapezius, temporal muscle and sternocleidomastoid muscle). Vagus nerve stimulation will be performed through a diaphragmatic breathing exercise, during 5 minutes, adding neural tension of median nerve.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Suboccipital inhibition

Intervention Type OTHER

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

Ischemic pressure

Intervention Type OTHER

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.

Passive stretching

Intervention Type OTHER

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.

Diaphragmatic breathing exercice

Intervention Type OTHER

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).

Manual therapy group

Patients will recibe 4 sessions, each of the duration of 20 minutes. Manual therapy consist in: suboccipital inhibition (during 10 minutes) and ischemic pressure and passive stretching of three muscles (superior trapezius, temporal muscle and sternocleidomastoid muscle).

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Suboccipital inhibition

Intervention Type OTHER

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

Ischemic pressure

Intervention Type OTHER

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.

Passive stretching

Intervention Type OTHER

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.

Interventions

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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

Intervention Type 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.

Intervention Type 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.

Intervention Type 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).

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients diagnosed with episodic or chronic tension type headache

Exclusion Criteria

* Pregnant women
* Patients who have received in the previous 3 months some type of treatment for headache
* Recent history of syncope or seizures
* Heart / cardiovascular disease
* Electrical or neurostimulation devices
* History of intracranial / carotid aneurysm or bleeding; brain tumors / lesions; significant head trauma.
* Change in prophylactic medication type or dose \<1 month before the intervention
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Lucia Trullenque Espallargas

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Lucia Trullenque Espallargas

STUDIENT

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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ALEJANDRO FERRAGUT, DOCTOR

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Universidad Alcalá de Henares

Locations

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Fisioterapia FIMA clinic

Madrid, , Spain

Site Status

Facultad de Enfermería y fisioterapia, Universidad Alcalá de Henares

Madrid, , Spain

Site Status

Countries

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Spain

Central Contacts

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LUCIA TRULLENQUE, STUDENT

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 649389616

Email: [email protected]

PAOLA FORTUNIO, STUDENT

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 609500069

Email: [email protected]

Other Identifiers

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CEIM/2021/1/017

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id