Objective

2

To observe the effects of rotational-traction manipulation combined with acupuncture on symptom improvement in patients with cervicogenic headache （CGH）.

Methods

2

A total of 84 patients with CGH， diagnosed at the Department Ⅱ of Spine， Wangjing Hospital， China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from January 2022 to August 2024， were enrolled and randomly divided into the acupuncture group and the combination group， with 42 patients in each. The acupuncture group received acupuncture alone， while the combination group received rotational-traction manipulation combined with acupuncture. Interventions were performed twice weekly for 4 weeks. Headache frequency， Visual Analog Scale （VAS） scores for neck， occipital， and/or head pain， and cervical range of motion （ROM） scores were evaluated before and after treatment.

Results

2

At 2 and 4 weeks post-treatment， headache frequency in both groups decreased signific

antly compared with baseline （

P

<

0.05）， and the combination group had lower headache frequency than the acupuncture group （

P

<

0.05）. VAS scores at immediate post-treatment， 2 weeks， and 4 weeks were significantly reduced in both groups compared with baseline （

P

<

0.05）， with the combination group showing lower scores than the acupuncture group （

P

<

0.05）. ROM scores at immediate post-treatment， 2 weeks， and 4 weeks differed significantly between the two groups （

P

<

0.05）， with the combination group showing lower ROM scores than the acupuncture group （

P

<

0.05）.

Conclusion

2

Rotational-traction manipulation combined with acupuncture can effectively reduce headache frequency and pain severity and improve cervical ROM in patients with CGH， demonstrating superior efficacy compared with acupuncture alone.