Greater Occipital Nerve Pulsed Radiofrequency for the Treatment of Combined Migraine and Cervicogenic Headache (New Approach)

Greater Occipital Nerve Pulsed Radiofrequency for the Treatment of Combined Migraine and Cervicogenic Headache (New Approach): Randomized Clinical Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT06121037

Enrollment

Registered

2023-11-07

Start date

2022-01-01

Completion date

2023-09-01

Last updated

2023-11-08

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

Conditions

Greater Occipital Nerve, Pulsed Radiofrequency

Brief summary

Combined migraine and cervicogenic headache present significant challenges in clinical management due to their complex and overlapping pathophysiologies. Both conditions involve the trigeminocervical complex, suggesting a potential shared anatomical and neurobiological basis

Detailed description

Traditional treatment approaches for these headaches often include pharmacological interventions, but in cases of refractory or inadequate response, interventional techniques targeting the greater occipital nerve (GON) have gained attention. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has gained recognition as a potential therapeutic option for patients with refractory combined migraine and cervicogenic headaches. The proximal and distal ultrasound-guided approaches are widely utilized for GON RFA. These approaches aim to disrupt pain signals transmitted by the GON and provide relief of pain for these headache disorders

Interventions

PROCEDUREproximal ultrasound-guided GON radiofrequency ablation

proximal GON radiofrequency

PROCEDUREdistal ultrasound-guided GON radiofrequency ablation

distal GON radiofrequency

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Patients diagnosed with combined migraine and cervicogenic headache according to The International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) * Age between 18 and 65 years. * Willingness to participate and provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

* Previous neurosurgical procedures for headache management. * Patients with contraindications for the RF technique * Pregnancy or lactation * History of psychiatric disorders or substance abuse

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Numerical rating score	baseline and at follow-up visits (2 weeks.1, 2.3, and 6 months)	0-10 scale, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating the worst possible pain.

Countries

Egypt

Outcome results

None listed

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