Neck Pain Research!

 Here is a list of research articles that relate to how Neck Pain can trigger tension-type headaches and the effectiveness of certain management strategies! 

Click on title which will open up the research article! 

(Shah et al., 2023) - Muscle Contraction Tension Headache

• Exact pathophysiology is unknown, but both central and peripheral sensitisation processes were observed.
• Peripheral excitation is more associated with episodic TTH whereas, chronic TTH shows more signs of central sensitization.
• Researchers found that sternocleidomastoid muscles have reduced activation at the start of contraction in TTH. However this association was not found in other neck muscles or at the end of contraction.

(Jung et al., 2022) - Effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions on headache intensity, frequency, duration and quality of life of patients with tension-type headache. A systematic review and network meta-analysis

• Combined physiotherapy techniques were more effective than individual approaches
• Manual therapy and exercise were most effective in reducing headache intensity when combined
• TENS and dry-needling techniques reached clinically significant improvements on headache intensity and frequency in the short-term

(Onan et al., 2025) - The efficacy of physiotherapy approaches in chronic tension-type headache: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Muscle relaxation methods and neck-shoulder exercises provided significant improvement in headache intensity, frequency and duration
• An increase in physical activity (daily step count) is positively associated with response to treatment.