Simple injection could ease chronic headaches for millions
NCT ID NCT07347730
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether injecting a steroid and numbing medicine into muscle trigger points can relieve chronic cervicogenic headaches (headaches that start from the neck). Over 1,000 adults aged 18-65 with at least 3 months of headaches will receive either the trigger point injection or a nerve block injection. Researchers will track pain, headache frequency, and quality of life for 2 years to see if the simpler injection works just as well.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- triamcinolone acetonide and lidocaine injection
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a simple, safe injection option for people with chronic cervicogenic headache who haven't found relief from other treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is a non-inferiority trial, so it may only show that the injection is as good as, not better than, existing treatments. Long-term benefits and risks are still being studied.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 1,036 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosed with cervicogenic headache by at least two pain specialists or neurologists; * Disease duration of at least 3 months; * Age between 18 and 65 years; * Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) score ≥ 3 despite conservative pharmacological treatment; * Signed informed consent form. Exclusion Criteria: * History of allergy to trial medications such as corticosteroids; * Alcohol abuse; long-term use of opioids (exceeding 2 weeks or more than 3 days per week for over 1 month); suspected use of sedative or analgesic medications; patients on long-term steroid therapy; * Severe neurological disorders, significant hepatic or renal dysfunction, heart failure, coagulation abnormalities, gastric ulcer, diabetes, inflammatory rheumatic diseases, etc.; * Inability to use pain assessment scales; * Presence of local or systemic infection; * Pregnant or lactating patients.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Beijing Tiantan Hospital
RECRUITINGBeijing, Beijing Municipality, 100070, China
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- Hands-On therapy may offer Drug-Free relief for Neck-Linked headaches
- Can Hands-On therapy or targeted exercise ease headaches from the neck?
- Can a physical exam tell a headache from neck pain?
- Could poor posture be fueling teen headaches? a new study investigates