Effects of Exercise and Relaxation Techniques on Tension Headache Pain Parameters of University Students

EFFECTS OF EXERCISE AND RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE PAIN PARAMETERS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS; A RANDOMIZED AND CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02264340

Acronym

ERTTHU

Enrollment

152

Registered

2014-10-15

Start date

2010-09-30

Completion date

2011-03-31

Last updated

2014-10-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Tension-Type Headache

Keywords

Tension-type headache, relaxation techniques, physiotherapy

Brief summary

Tension headache is a common disabling disease and a worldwide public health problem. This research tries to demonstrate the efficacy of physical therapy, based on cervical training and postural self-correction instructions, which aims to increase the positive results obtained from traditional relaxation techniques (Schultz Autogenic Training). University students are selected, because headaches are very common in this sector of the population. The design is a non-pharmacological randomized controlled trial, with blinded evaluation of the response variables. The investigators compare two independent samples. One of them receives an only treatment (Autogenic Training) and the other group receives a combined program (Autogenic Training + specific cervical exercises and postural correction). Pain parameters (frequency, intensity and duration) and drug consumption are measured before treatment, and then, at 4 weeks and 3 months, to value the results.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALRelaxation technique Autogenic Training

Autogenic Training

BEHAVIORALCombined treatment Autogenic Training + Cervical exercises and postural correction

Autogenic Training + Cervical exercises and postural correction

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 25 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* College students of Complutense University of Madrid, diagnosed with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headache (according to the criteria of International Headache Society (IHS)).

Exclusion criteria

* Cases with other headaches * Students with excessive state anxiety and / or trait anxiety (≥ 85 percentile, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory ) * Students that had received treatment for tension headache, based on physical exercise or relaxation techniques, in the last 6 months.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Frequency	4 weeks	Days with headache, during 4 weeks

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Intensity	4 weeks	Pain intensity (VAS: 1-10)
Duration	4 weeks	Hours a day with headache
Medication	4 weeks	Days in which person takes drugs for pain, during 4 weeks

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026