Comparing the Effectiveness of Dry Needling and Ischemic Compression on Tension Type Headache

Comparing the Effectiveness of Dry Needling and Ischemic Compression Technique on Muscle Thickness and Health Related Quality of Life in Trigger Point Tension Type Headache

Headaches are the main health problem as one of the prevalent type of all symptoms in the world population. Among different types of headaches, the most prevailing primary headache in general population is Tension-type headache (TTH). According to Global Burden Disease study conducted in 2016 tension-type headache ranks the third highest primary headache syndromes among 32 diseases and injuries in 195 countries from the Period of 1990 to 2016.These types of headaches are associated with significant reductions in productivity of an individual with prominent increase in socioeconomic costs. There are various treatments suggested for improving the symptoms in trigger point related tension type headaches such as usage of hot packs, cryotherapy, ultrasound therapy, mobilization and manipulation techniques, Dry needling, MET and ICT. None of the study has been conducted in Pakistan which has compared two specific techniques to resolve trigger points with the accuracy of diagnosis by diagnostic ultrasound in limited time period, which is cost friendly, and provides quick relief to patients without causing a lot of pain. Therefore, more studies are needed to overcome the gap area in the use of specific techniques in clinics with accurate diagnosis by the clinicians of Pakistan.

The research aims to compare the effectiveness of Dry Needling and Ischemic Compression Technique on muscle thickness & health related quality of life in trigger point related tension type headache. Headaches are the major health concern as one of the prevalent type of all symptoms in the worldwide population and are the cause of disabilities and hindrance in productivity of an individual. The treatment approaches performed for trigger point related tension type headache are non-specific, vigorous, time consuming and costly. It is due to the inaccurate location of the trigger points present in cervical musculature. The studies related to comparison of specific treatment procedures to treat trigger point related tension type headaches such as dry needling and Ischemic Compression technique with the knowledge of accurate location of trigger points present in cervical musculature are lacking in Pakistani population. Hence the current study is aimed to determine the effect of dry needling and Ischemic Compression technique with the use of diagnostic ultrasound on muscle thickness, pain and health related quality of life in Trigger point related tension type headache. The study will be conducted on the tension type headache diagnosed individuals aged 20 to 50 years of age, at Physical Therapy OPD of Saifee and Ziauddin Hospital with the help of envelope method as a randomization technique. Dry needling will be performed on Group A whereas Group B will be given Ischemic Compression technique on trigger points diagnosed by Musculoskeletal Ultrasound. Patient's headache, muscle thickness and health related quality of life will be assessed by Numeric Pain rating scale, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound and Short Form-36 Questionnaire respectively. If the data will be found to be normally distributed, Pair T-test will be run for with the group analysis. Between the groups an alysis will be perform by Independent t test. In case data found to be deviated from the assumption of normal distribution, Paired T-test will be replaced by Wilcoxon test and Independent T test will be replaced by Mann Whitney U Test. The level of significance will be kept at 95% alpha-0.05.

Group A: Dry Needling treatment given for 6 sessions, 3 days/week for 2 weeks on the trigger points located in Upper Trapezius, Sternocleidomastoid, Sub occipitalis and Temporalis muscles. Group B: Ischemic Compression technique given for 6 sessions, 3 days/week for 2 weeks on the trigger points located in Upper Trapezius, Sternocleidomastoid, Sub occipitalis and Temporalis muscles.

All participants will be blinded regarding treatment. A total of 30 patients will be recruited and assigned into two groups. Group A will receive Dry needling sessions and group B will receive Ischemic compression technique.

Dry needling will be performed on the patients of group A after the diagnosis of trigger points in particular muscles.The complete treatment session will be comprised of 3 sessions per week for two weeks followed by follow up after 1 month until the symptoms have been improved.

Ischemic Compression technique will be performed on the patients of group B after the diagnosis of trigger points in particular muscles by diagnostic ultrasound. The complete treatment session will be comprised of 3 sessions per week for two weeks followed by follow up after 1 month until the symptoms have been improved.

For Group A, Dry needling will be applied into trigger points which are active and present in the muscles, efficiently and within the safe limits taking all the safety precautions. For group B, Ischemic Compression Technique will be applied on trigger points. The complete treatment session will be comprised of 3 sessions per week for two weeks followed by follow up after 1 month until the symptoms have been improved for both the groups.

Pain will be assessed through Numeric Pain Rating Scale NPRS among trigger point tension type headache individuals, where high values indicate greater pain intensity.

Pain will be assessed through Numeric Pain Rating Scale NPRS among trigger point tension type headache individuals where high values indicate greater pain intensity.

All the domains of Health related quality of life assessment will be carried out through the individual's scoring.

All the domains of Health related quality of life assessment will be carried out through the individual's scoring.

An ultrasound examination will be performed to find out the muscle thickness of cervical muscles in which trigger points are present.

An ultrasound examination will be performed to find out the muscle thickness of cervical muscles in which trigger points are present.

Inclusion Criteria: 20-50 aged individuals years Trigger point related Tension Type Headache diagnosed by Neurologist. Patients having trigger points in the muscles taken in the study. Exclusion Criteria: Medical Red flags Major Depression Neurological or Cardiovascular Disease.

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