Effect of Adding Dry Cupping to Physical Therapy Intervention on Pain and Disability in Cervicogenic Headache Patients

Background: Cervicogenic headache (CGH) is a secondary form of headache originating from cervical spine dysfunction and associated with myofascial trigger points. Dry Cupping, a manual therapy technique, is frequently utilized in physical therapy for managing Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrPs). Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of dry cupping therapy, in conjunction with conventional therapy, on headache pain intensity, frequency, duration, and level of headache-related disability in patients with CGH. Subjects and Methods, Thirty patients diagnosed with CGH (aged 25–45 years) were randomly assigned to two equal groups. Group A (n = 15) received dry cupping therapy applied to sub occipital, upper trapezius, and sternocleidomastoid muscles in addition to conventional physical therapy. Group B (n = 15) received conventional therapy only consisted of (self-stretching exercises targeting the sub occipital, upper trapezius, and sternocleidomastoid muscles, combined with chin-in, and neck isometric exercises). Both groups received treatment three sessions per week for four weeks. Outcome measures included the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Headache Frequency, Headache duration, and Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), assessed pre- and post-treatment. Results: Group A demonstrated statistically significant improvements across all outcome measures compared to Group B (p < 0.05), including greater reductions in headache intensity, frequency, and disability scores. Conclusion: The addition of dry cupping therapy to conventional therapy effectively reduces pain intensity and functional disability in patients with cervicogenic headache. It may serve as a valuable non-invasive intervention in clinical practice