Thrust Manipulation, Electric Dry Needling and Exercise Vs. Non-thrust Mobilization, Soft-Tissue Mobilization, Exercise and TENS for Tension Type Headache Sufferers
The purpose of this research is to compare two different approaches for treating patients with tension-type headaches: thrust Manipulation, electric dry Needling and exercise Vs. non-thrust mobilization, soft-tissue mobilization, exercise and TENS. Physical therapists commonly use all of these techniques to treat tension-type headaches. This study is attempting to find out if one treatment strategy is more effective than the other.
• Patient must be between 18 and 65 years old and report ALL YES under one of the Tension-type Headaches described below:
• 2 Frequent Episodic Tension-type Headaches: Frequent episodes of headache, typically bilateral, pressing or tightening in quality and of mild to moderate intensity, lasting minutes to days. The pain does not worsen with routine physical activity and is not associated with nausea, but photophobia or phonophobia may be present.
⁃ At least 10 episodes of headache occurring on 1- 14 days per month on average for \>3 months (12 and \<180 days per year)
⁃ Headache lasting from 30 minutes to 7 days
⁃ Patient has headaches that have at least two of the following four characteristics:
∙ Bilateral location
‣ Pressing or tightening (non-pulsating) quality
‣ Mild or moderate intensity
‣ Not aggravated by routine physical activity such as walking or climbing stairs
⁃ Both of the following are true:
∙ No nausea or vomiting
‣ No more than one of photophobia or phonophobia
• 2.1 Frequent Episodic Tension-type Headache associated with pericranial tenderness
⁃ Episodes fulfilling criteria for Frequent episodic tension-type headache (See 2.2 above)
⁃ Increased pericranial tenderness on manual palpation.
• 3 Chronic Tension-type Headaches: A disorder evolving from frequent episodic tension-type headache, with daily or very frequent episodes of headache, typically bilateral, pressing or tightening in quality and of mild to moderate intensity, lasting hours to days, or unremitting. The pain does not worsen with routine physical activity, but may be associated with mild nausea, photophobia or phonophobia.
⁃ Headache occurring on 15 days per month on average for \>3 months (180 days per year)
⁃ Headache lasting hours to days, or unremitting
⁃ At least two of the following four characteristics
∙ Bilateral location
‣ Pressing or tightening (non-pulsating) quality
‣ Mild or moderate intensity
‣ Not aggravated by routine physical activity such as walking of climbing stairs
⁃ Both of the following:
∙ No more than one of the photophobia, phonophonbia, or mild nausea
‣ Neither moderate or severe nausea nor vomiting
• 3.1 Chronic Tension-type Headache associated with pericranial tenderness
⁃ Headache fulfilling criteria for 2.3 Chronic tension- type headache
⁃ Increased pericranial tenderness on manual palpation.