Abstract
Abstract Introduction: Cervicogenic headache stems from a dysfunctional mechanism that frequently affects the upper region of the cervical spine, often involving multiple tissues connected with the occipital, submandibular, and orofacial region. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the therapeutic effectiveness of a personalized program of manual therapy and specific exercises in patients with cervicogenic headaches. Material and Methods: The study included 44 patients. Specific functional tests of the cranio-cervical-mandibular complex, namely the evaluation of the cranio-cervical-mandibular complex (according to Rocabado), cervical flexion-rotation test, cervical flexor endurance test, cervical extensors endurance test, and palpation of trigger points and cervical spine dynamics, were employed. Results: The analysis of demographic data shows a significantly increased prevalence of headache among women. The symptomatology that almost always accompanies episodes of cervicogenic headache is localized neck pain. The intensity and frequency of the symptoms are strongly associated with alterations in the dynamics of the upper cervical spine and chronic sleep disorders. Conclusion: Cranio-cervical manual therapy has proven effective in patients with cervicogenic headaches. The implementation of a strategy based on manual therapy and active exercise had a superior statistical and clinical result compared to the exclusively manual therapeutic approach.
Highlights
Cervicogenic headache stems from a dysfunctional mechanism that frequently affects the upper region of the cervical spine, often involving multiple tissues connected with the occipital, submandibular, and orofacial region
The objective of our study was to demonstrate that a mixed therapeutic approach (MT specific to the cranio-cervicalmandibular (CCM) area combined with a program of active exercises specific to this region), adapted to the patient’s needs has an increased efficiency compared to the single approach (MT)
The patient reaches us with a chronic headache often due to a lack of proper education related to the use of manual therapy
Summary
Cervicogenic headache stems from a dysfunctional mechanism that frequently affects the upper region of the cervical spine, often involving multiple tissues connected with the occipital, submandibular, and orofacial region. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the therapeutic effectiveness of a personalized program of manual therapy and specific exercises in patients with cervicogenic headaches. The intensity and frequency of the symptoms are strongly associated with alterations in the dynamics of the upper cervical spine and chronic sleep disorders. Conclusion: Cranio-cervical manual therapy has proven effective in patients with cervicogenic headaches. ––Primary headaches, which do not depend on any specific pathology and whose etiology remains unknown, including migraines, tension headaches, and cluster headaches. ––Secondary headaches, which are a consequence of other pathologies, including cervicogenic headaches and temporomandibular headaches, which are amongst the most common forms found in our clinical practice. The most common type of headache is a tension-type headache with a prevalence of 38%, followed by migraine with a prevalence of 10%, and cervicogenic headache of 2.5-4.1% [4]
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