Shock waves may zap headache pain – new study tests best dose
NCT ID NCT06879418
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether low or medium dose shock wave therapy can ease cervicogenic headaches (headaches that start from the neck). 135 people with neck pain and trigger points received either low dose, medium dose, or fake shock waves, plus exercises. Researchers measured headache disability and muscle activity before and after treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a non-drug option to ease headache and neck pain from trigger points.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed trial with no phase designation. Results may not apply to all headache types, and benefits may be modest.
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
-
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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135 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Finished
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Sep 2025
- 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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40 to 60 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: * Symptoms of mechanical neck pain lasting for more than three months * Skeletal muscle with a palpable taut band * Hypersensitive point inside the taut band with the ability to reproduce referred pain when the sensitive spot is palpated, * Joint soreness in at least one of the upper cervical spine's joints (c1-c3) * Unilateral discomfort that originates in the neck and radiates to the frontotemporal area * Pain that is made worse by moving the neck * Headaches that occur at least once a week for a duration longer than three months. Exclusion Criteria: * Other primary headaches (i.e., migraine, tension-type headache) * Bilateral headaches, * Other defined cervical problem such as fracture, dislocation, skin disease, illness that is inflammatory, neural illness, vertebrobasilar insufficiency, a birth defect, tumor, or infection.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Modern University for Technology and Information
Cairo, Egypt
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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