Muscular Pressure Pain Threshold and Influence of Craniocervical Posture in Individuals With Episodic Tension-Type Headache

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the pressure pain threshold (PPT) of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), suboccipital (SO) and upper trapezius (UT) muscles and the craniocervical posture in individuals with episodic tension-type headache (ETTH). Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, non-randomized study with 60 young adults (77% female) comprising both sexes and an age range of 18-27 years. Individuals were distributed into a control group (G1) and individuals with ETTH (G2). The frequency of headaches per month was recorded. A pressure dynamometer was used to evaluate the PPT. Photogrammetry was used to evaluate the cervical lordosis (CL) and cephalic protrusion (CP). The data were statistically analyzed. Results: There were differences in the PPT, where the UT, SO and SCM muscles presented lower sensitivity to pain, respectively. The SCM muscle presented a lower PPT in G2. The CL and CP angles were significantly lower in G2. Conclusion: Individuals with ETTH exhibited a significantly lower PPT in the SCM and SO muscles than in the UT muscle. Nevertheless, individuals with ETTH presented with the SCM muscle being more sensitive to pain as well as higher CL and CP than individuals without symptomatology.

Evidence of localized and widespread pressure pain hypersensitivity in patients with tension-type headache: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…After removing duplicates, 611 studies remained. Five hundred and eighty-seven (n = 587) were excluded based on examination of their title and/or abstract, leaving 24 articles (27–50), for full-text analysis. Three studies were excluded because they did not include a control group (40–42) and one because it had an experimental design (43).…”

“…Three studies were excluded because they did not include a control group (40–42) and one because it had an experimental design (43). Finally, 20 studies (27–39,44–50), were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis (Figure 1).…”

“…The methodological quality scores ranged from 4 to 8 (mean: 6.1, SD: 1.1) out of a maximum of 9. Three studies were considered of poor quality (4 stars) (27,36,39), nine were of fair methodological quality (5–6 stars) (29,32,35,37,44,45,47,48,50), and eight were of good quality (7 stars) (30,31,33,34,38,46,49,51). The most frequent biases were lack of control for additional factors as psychological aspects (e.g.…”

Has the Phase of the Menstrual Cycle Been Considered in Studies Investigating Pressure Pain Sensitivity in Migraine and Tension-Type Headache: A Scoping Review

“…After reading the full-text of the remaining 43 studies, the last 13 were excluded because: results were not provided by TTH or migraine [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], text did not provide the required data [ 35 ], they were experimental-induced pain models [ 36 , 37 , 38 ], it was written in Korean [ 39 ], results were not separated by gender [ 40 , 41 , 42 ], or PPT was not assessed with an algometer or dynamometer [ 43 ]. Finally, 30 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria and were included in the review of TTH ( Figure 1 ) [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ].…”

“…The total sample of patients with TTH included in the studies was 1525 (986 women, 64.6%). A large number of women (≥50% of the sample) participated in the majority of the studies ( n = 27, 93.34%) [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 23 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 ], except for just three where more males than females participated [ 48 , 51 , 67 ]. Six articles only recruited women [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 44 , 61 ].…”