An interventional study of Exercises (Endurance and strengthening) and Myofascial release technique in Effect of Physiotherapy on Cobb Angle in Patients With Cervicogenic Headache, sponsored by Al-Azhar University. Recruiting at 3 sites in Palestinian Territories. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 55 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-18.
Sponsored by Al-Azhar University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research
This study will investigate whether myofascial release therapy alone or in combination with therapeutic exercises can improve cervical spine alignment, measured by cervical Cobb angle on X-ray, in patients with cervicogenic headache. The research will also examine potential effects on sleep quality and psychological factors."
192 studies on the registry are indexed under Post-Traumatic Headache; 54 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is above the median of 44 across 169 interventional studies indexed under Post-Traumatic Headache.
Browse Post-Traumatic Headache studies →Al-Azhar University is the lead sponsor of 531 studies on the registry; 172 are open to participants now.
Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The intervention will include targeted neck strengthening and endurance exercises combined with the application of hot packs
Other: Exercises (Endurance and strengthening)
The intervention will include targeted neck strengthening and endurance exercises combined with the application of hot packs in addition to myofasical release technique
Other: Exercises (Endurance and strengthening) · Other: Myofascial release technique
control ; only advices
Neck Strengthening and Endurance Exercises with Hot Packs Preparation: A moist hot pack will be applied for 10-15 minutes to the cervical region before exercise to reduce stiffness and enhance tissue extensibility. Exercise program: Deep cervical flexor training: Chin tucks in supine and sitting, progressing to sustained isometric holds. Extensor and scapular stabilizer training: Prone head lifts and shoulder retraction exercises with light resistance. Endurance training: Low-load, high-repetition exercises focusing on maintaining cervical posture against gravity. Progression: Intensity and duration will gradually increase, emphasizing endurance over maximal strength to correct postural deficits. Frequency: 40 minutes per session, 3 times per week for 6 weeks Rationale: The combined use of heat and targeted exercises improves neuromuscular control, enhances cervical stability, and supports better cervical curvature correction. Myofascial Release Technique
Myofascial Release Technique Target areas: Suboccipital muscles, upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and deep cervical fascia. Method: A physiotherapist will perform gentle, sustained manual pressure and low-load, long-duration stretching on restricted cervical and upper thoracic fascia to reduce tension and improve soft tissue mobility. Duration and frequency: Each session will include 30'to 50 minutes of myofascial release, delivered 3 times per week for the study period for 6 weeks. Rationale: This technique aims to decrease myofascial restrictions contributing to abnormal cervical alignment and pain, thereby facilitating improved posture and muscle activation.
Cervical cobb angle
Time frame: pre and post (6 weeks)
Cobb angle of cervical spine assessed by X Ray (Lateral)
Landmarks \& angle construction (C2-C7 Cobb) Draw a line along the inferior endplate of C2. Draw a line along the inferior endplate of C7. Erect perpendiculars to each line and measure the angle at their intersection (alternatively, measure the acute angle between the two endplate lines and subtract from 180°). Record the angle in degrees of lordosis (greater positive values = greater lordosis). Note the sign convention in your CRF and keep it consistent pre/post. Normal value is between 20\_40
Time frame: pre , and 8 weeks post physiotherapy intervention
Hospital Anxiety and depression scale
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a validated self-report screening tool developed to assess levels of anxiety and depression in patients, particularly in non-psychiatric hospital settings. It contains 14 items divided into two subscales: seven items for anxiety (HADS-A) and seven for depression (HADS-D). Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 3, giving a maximum score of 21 for each subscale. Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. Scores of 0-7 are generally considered normal, 8-10 suggest borderline (possible) anxiety or depression, and 11-21 indicate clinically significant levels. The HADS is widely used in clinical and research contexts due to its brevity, ease of administration, and ability to distinguish between anxiety and depression symptoms without being confounded by physical illness.
Time frame: pre and 8 weeks post physiotherapy interventions
sleep quality
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a widely used self-report questionnaire designed to assess sleep quality and disturbances over a one-month period. It consists of 19 items grouped into seven components: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction. Each component is scored from 0 (no difficulty) to 3 (severe difficulty), and the component scores are summed to yield a global score ranging from 0 to 21. A higher score indicates poorer sleep quality, with a global score greater than 5 commonly used to differentiate between good and poor sleepers. The PSQI is valued for its reliability, validity, and practicality in both clinical and research settings for evaluating sleep problems across diverse populations.
Time frame: pre, and 8 weeks post physiotherapy
neck disability
The Neck Disability Index (NDI) is a self-administered questionnaire designed to measure a patient's level of neck pain-related disability. It consists of 10 items covering domains such as pain intensity, personal care, lifting, reading, headaches, concentration, work, driving, sleeping, and recreation. Each item is scored on a 6-point scale ranging from 0 (no disability) to 5 (complete disability), resulting in a total possible score of 50. The raw score is often expressed as a percentage by multiplying by two. Higher scores indicate greater disability, with common interpretation ranges being: 0-4 (no disability), 5-14 (mild), 15-24 (moderate), 25-34 (severe), and ≥35 (complete disability). The NDI is one of the most widely used tools for assessing functional status in patients with neck pain, demonstrating strong reliability, validity, and responsiveness to clinical change.
Time frame: pre and 8 weeks post physiotherapy interventions
Plan to share: No
Started Sep 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 15 months after the start.
Of 89 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Post-Traumatic Headache, half reached primary completion within 11 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 26. This study's planned 15 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 90 studies reached it within 12 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 26.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.