Effectiveness of sustained natural apophyseal glides in females with cervicogenic headache: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Cervicogenic headache (CGH) is a common condition that results in significant disability. To treat this dysfunction, Mulligan described sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) as a manual therapy approach. However, only inconclusive short-term evidence exists for treating CGH with SNAGs. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to investigate the effect of SNAGs in the treatment of CGH. METHODS: Fourty female patients ranging from 20 to 40 years with CGH were randomly assigned to two groups: 20 in a treatment group and 20 in a control group. SNAGs were applied to the treatment group while the control group received placebo treatment. Both groups received their respective treatment for 20 minutes, alternately three times per week, for a total of 12 times in four weeks. The outcome measures were the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Participants were assessed at baseline and at the end of each week. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Independent t-testing was used to reveal changes between groups. One-way ANOVA was used to determine changes within groups. The level of significance was P < 0.05. RESULTS: Twenty participants (100%) in the treatment group and 17 (85%) in the control group had a history of headache aggravation with active movements or passive head positioning. There was no significant difference at baseline (p > 0.05), indicating that both groups were homogeneous at the time of recruitment. The p value (p < 0.05) showed a significant difference in pain and level of disability at three and four weeks (p < 0.05) in patients treated with SNAGs. However, the cervical range of motion (ROM) showed a statistically significant improvement in flexion and extension in the treatment group (p < 0.05) while there was no significant improvement in side flexion and rotation ROM in both groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study found that SNAGs were effective in reducing pain and neck disability and improved ROM in females with CGH.