According to a pilot randomized clinical trial in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2013, trigger point therapy reduced cervicogenic headache pain by 71% for patients in this new study. The patients also experienced a 59% reduction in neck pain symptoms, as well as improved range of motion and muscle function.
Trigger point therapy is a treatment commonly used by chiropractors to relieve trigger points (TrPs), or hyperirritable spots of pain located in taut bands of skeletal muscles. Earlier research has shown that chiropractic spinal adjustments are effective for cervicogenic headache, but few studies have tested the efficacy of trigger point therapy for the condition.
On average, patients’ headache pain scores dropped from a 7.6 out of 10 to a 2.2, or about a 71.1% reduction. Their neck pain scores also decreased from a 7.4 to a 3.0 after treatment, or about a 59.5% reduction. However, this is one of the first studies to confirm the presence of trigger points in people with cervicogenic headache, and to suggest that trigger point therapy can help. Chiropractors frequently use trigger point therapy in conjunction with spinal adjustments, spinal mobilization, and exercise rehabilitation. This study adds further evidence of the efficacy of chiropractic care for cervicogenic headache.
Your Doctors at South Orange Chiropractic Center frequently use trigger point therapy as part of their care with both manual and instrument adjusting to achieve these results.
