Effects of upper cervical translatoric mobilization on headache, quality of life, cervical mobility and pressure pain threshold in patients with cervicogenic headache: A randomized controlled trial

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of upper cervical translatoric spinal mobilization (UC-TSM) on headache, quality of life, cervical mobility and pressure pain threshold in subjects with cervicogenic headache (CEH). Methods Eighty-two volunteers (41.5 ± 15.3 years; 20 males and 62 females) with CEH participated in the study and were randomly assigned to control or treatment group. The treatment group received 3 sessions of UC-TSM and the control group remained the same sessions, in the same position and time but received no treatment. Primary outcomes were Headache Impact Test for headache-related quality of life and flexion-rotation test for upper cervical mobility. Secondary outcomes included intensity, frequency and duration of headache, general cervical mobility and pressure pain thresholds over cervical spine. They were measured at baseline, at the end of the treatment and one month after the intervention. Results UC-TSM group increased significantly headache-related quality of life (p d = .857). Headache intensity, frequency and duration improved in UC-TSM group (p = .000-.013), in contrast to control group which did not obtain significant changes (p = .234-.965). UC-TSM group presented significant increases in upper cervical mobility (p ). Between-group effect sizes were considered large at T1 (d = 0.90–1.21) and moderate to large at T2 (d = 0.78–1.17). Conclusions Three sessions of UC-TSM increased headache-related quality of life and upper cervical mobility in subjects with CEH. Intensity, duration and frequency of headache, cervical mobility and PPT also improved. Further research considering the limitations of the present clinical trial is required to confirm this tendency.