Specific Neck Rehabilitation for Unilateral Headache and Neck Pain, and Structural and Functional Changes in the Brain
Cervicogenic Headache
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Cervicogenic Headache focused on measuring unilateral headache, cervical pain, neck pain, rehabilitation, structural brain changes, surface based volumetry, diffusion tensor imaging, functional brain changes, sensorimotor control, craniocervical flexion, vestibular rehabilitation, cortical thickness
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Unilateral headache and neck pain for 2 years or more
- Minimum one headache attack pr week (numeric rating scale ≥4)
- Five or more of Antonaci's seven diagnostic criteria
- Neck Disability Index score ≥8 Points (≥16 percent points).
For healthy controls:
• Same age distribution
Exclusion Criteria:
- Progressive diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, cancer)
- Ongoing cervical infection
- Neurological disease (syringomyelia, radiculopathy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, ischemic stroke )
- Other headache (>1 tension type headache or migraine attack every month)
- Other pain conditions (including primary temporomandibular disorder and generalized pain (fibromyalgia with pain intensity >6 to digital palpation)
- Previous or ongoing drug abuse
- Serious psychiatric disorder.
- Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 score for depressive symptoms > 2.2
- Ongoing litigation process
- Intolerance to MRI
- Pregnancy and lactation
- For the subsample undergoing MR analyses: Other systemic diseases (Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, cerebrovascular, epilepsy or other vascular diseases) and dysmenorrhea requiring analgesics
For healthy controls:
- Exclusion criteria as above
- Chronic pain
- Chronic dizziness
- Intolerance to MRI
- Pregnancy and lactation
Sites / Locations
- University Hospital of North Norway
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
Specific neck rehabilitation
Standard primary health care
The intervention includes specific neck rehabilitation as described by Jull and Falla over a period of 4 weeks and recommendations for further training.
This represents individualized therapy administered by the primary physician.