NCT04091100

Effects of Electroacupuncture and Myofascial Release on Headache

Completed NA Last updated 21 February 2021

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Electroacupuncture in Tension-Type Headache in 19 participants. Completed in 22 October 2019.

Timeline

5 August 2019

Primary endpoint
26 September 2019

22 October 2019

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Bahçeşehir University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	19
Start date	5 August 2019
Primary completion	26 September 2019
Estimated completion	22 October 2019
Sites	1 location across Turkey (Türkiye)

Drugs / interventions tested

• Electroacupuncture
• Myofascial Release

Conditions studied

• Tension-Type Headache — all drugs for Tension-Type Headache →

Sponsor

Bahçeşehir University

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Tension-Type Headache. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Tension-type headaches (TTH) last from thirty minutes to seven days, were ranked second among the primary types of headaches. The diagnosis of TTH is made according to the diagnostic criteria of the Second Beta version of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. The causes of TTH include the activation of extremely tense peripheric afferent neurons through the head and neck muscles, muscle sensitivity and stress. Additionally, a limited range of motion (ROM) in the neck may also lead to TTH.

The treatment of TTH involve both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. It is known that the pharmacological treatment of TTH has a limited effect. However, previous studies have shown that physical therapy programs that include methods such as acupuncture, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), exercise, biofeedback, manipulation, cryotherapy, massage, strengthening of the neck muscles, stretching exercises are effective in alleviating TTH.

It has been observed that the trigger points in muscles play a role in TTH. Trigger points are generally defined as hyper-irritable points inside taut bands. It has been demonstrated that myofascial release, which is applied to the trigger points and is effective in relaxation treatments through stimulation of the neuromuscular system, relieves headaches via muscle relaxation. Electroacupuncture is another method used in relieving myofascial pain origin that involves the application of acupuncture needles to particular points and delivery of an electrical current at a specific frequency. The stimulation of muscle and skin tissues in affected areas is carried out by means of needles and the electrical current relieves pain and muscle spasms. In a meta-analysis study, it was found that electroacupuncture had a higher pain-relieving effect. However, a review of related studies deemed them to be lacking because the assessments were too limited to make it possible to unequivocally state that electroacupuncture has a high level of therapeutic efficacy.

The studies performed, however, did not examine the efficacy of electroacupuncture and myofascial release on TTH. Given that situation, the purpose of our study is to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture and myofascial release applied to points of tension in the neck muscles and trigger points of people suffering from TTH in terms of the headache intensity and frequency, neck functions, sleep quality and depression status.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Registration of intervention trials of Traditional Chinese Medicine for four neurological diseases on Chinese Clinical Trial Registry and ClinicalTrials.gov: a narrative review.
   Wei JJ, Guo RJ, Fu GJ, Liang X, et al · · 2022 · cited 6× · PMID 35294135 · DOI 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2022.01.010