Sternocleidomastoid muscle imbalance in a patient with recurrent headache

The Effectiveness of Sternocleidomastoid Muscle Dry Needling in Patients with Cervicogenic Headache

BACKGROUND

Cervicogenic headache (CGH) is a secondary headache with a cervical source that radiates pain to the head or face. Accordingly, one reason of CGH is myofascial trigger points. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of one session dry needling (DN) of myofascial trigger points of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle in patients with CGH.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this before-and-after clinical trial, 16 females aged 18-60 years with a clinical diagnosis of CGH were enrolled. All of the patients received one session DN into the myofascial trigger points of the SCM muscle. Headache index (HI), headache duration, headache frequency, and headache disability index (HDI) were assessed at 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the intervention. This study was registered in Clinical Trials as IRCT20181109041599N1.

RESULTS

One session DN into myofascial trigger points of the SCM muscle showed a significant improvement in HI (P < 0.001). Duration and frequency of headache as well as HDI significantly reduced after intervention (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

One session DN into myofascial trigger points of the SCM muscle was effective on improvement of HI, headache duration, headache frequency, and HDI in patients with CGH.

A sonographic comparison of the effect of dry needling and ischemic compression on the active trigger point of the sternocleidomastoid muscle associated with cervicogenic headache: A randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Cervicogenic headache (CeH) is among the common types of headache which has an undesirable influence on the quality of life. The myofascial trigger point (MTrP) within the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle is one of the most important causes of CeH.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of dry needling (DN) and ischemic compression (IC) on the headache symptoms as well as MTrP-related features in subjects with CeH originating from MTrPs of the SCM muscle using a sonographic method.

METHODS

A total of 29 female subjects aged 35.34 ± 12.19 on average with a clinical diagnosis of CeH originating from MTrP in the SCM muscle were randomly divided into the DN, IC, and control groups. Both DN and IC groups received 4 treatment sessions. Headache intensity, duration, frequency, MTrP elastic modulus, MTrP area, and pressure pain threshold (PPT) were assessed 2 weeks before and after treatments.

RESULTS

In both DN and IC groups, a significant improvement was found in the headache intensity, duration, frequency, PPT, and MTrP area (P< 0.05). No significant differences were observed between DN and IC (P> 0.05). Pearson correlation revealed a significant correlation between headache intensity and the MTrP elastic modulus (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Both interventions could reduce headache symptoms, PPT, and MTrP area. Neither intervention was found to be superior to the other in short-term follow-up. IC may be preferred since it has fewer unwanted side effects compared to DN. Based on the data, it may be concluded that some MTrP biomechanical features such as stiffness may influence the produced headache symptoms.

[Effectiveness of thoracolumbar myofascial release on increasing sternocleidomastoid resistance and reducing forward head posture angle]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of thoracolumbar myofascial release to increase the resistance of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle bilaterally and to decrease the angle of forward head posture in young women enrolled at the Autónoma University of Chile.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This longitudinal study was based on the immediate measurement (5minutes) of muscular resistance (seconds) through the fatigue test by means of surface electromyography in the bilateral sternocleidomastoid and analysis of the angle of forward head posture after the application of thoracolumbar myofascial release (TMFR). The 35 women evaluated met the inclusion criteria of female sex, age between 22 and 27 years, sedentary lifestyle, senior students of the Autónoma University of Chile, forward angle head posture between 43.8 and 51 degrees, body mass index indicating normal weight or overweight, and without spinal abnormalities. All participants provided written informed consent.

RESULTS

After the application of TMFR, there were statistically significant and immediate changes in the muscular resistance of the sternocleidomastoid with an average increase of 27.4seconds (P<.05) and an average decrease in the forward head posture angle of 2.8 degrees (P<.05).

CONCLUSION

TMFR produces an immediate effect in increasing the muscular resistance of the bilateral sternocleidomastoid and reducing the forward head posture angle in young women with forward head posture.