ADAPTIVE NEUROMODULATION AND BIO-PHYSICO-METRIC APPROACH IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CERVICOGENIC HEADACHE: A SINGLE-ARM PILOT OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

G. Barassi¹, C.E. Gallenga², L. Prosperi^1*, V. Guglielmi¹, A. Younes¹, F. Papa¹, M. Noce¹, M.P. Della Rovere¹ and M. Panunzio³

¹ Center for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.), Venue “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy;
² Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Specialist Surgery, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy;
³ Responsible Research Hospital, Campobasso, Italy.

*Correspondence to:
Loris Prosperi,
Center for Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Re-Education (Ce.Fi.R.R.) venue “G. d’Annunzio”,
University of Chieti-Pescara,
66100 Chieti, Italy.
e-mail: cefirr.ricerca@gmail.com

Received: 28 July, 2025 Accepted: 28 August, 2025

ISSN 2975-044X (online) ISSN 2038-4106 (print) Copyright © by BIOLIFE 2025 This publication and/or article is for individual use only and may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction may result in financial and other penalties. Disclosure: All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

ABSTRACT

Headache is a disorder affecting roughly 47% of population worldwide, which is also usually underestimated in its severity and spread due to its complexity. Indeed, it still remains insufficiently diagnosed and treated today. This single-arm pilot study aims to eval-uate the effectiveness of a Bio-Physico-Metric (BPM) approach, based on organized and systematic assessment and stimulation of Myofascial Trigger Points at a global musculoskeletal level, in the treatment of Cervicogenic Headache (CH). A group of 10 CH patients was enrolled after medical examination and observed while undergoing treatment with Adaptive Neuromodulation (ANM) applied following the BPM approach. Patients received BPM-ANM treatments 2 times a week every 48/72 hours, for eight weeks in total, with each treatment session lasting 20 minutes. They were evaluated before the start of the protocol (T0) and after the end of it (T1) through the Neck Disability Index, pressure-based Muscle Strength Analysis and Digitized Bio-Metric Assessment. Statistical analysis showed an overall improvement in values between T0 and T1, which was not statistically significant but was characterized by a generally good effect size. The BPM-ANM approach might be a safe and valid therapeutic option for CH patients but further studies are necessary to clarify the validity of the approach.

KEYWORDS: Cervicogenic headache, transcutaneous electrical stimulation, physical therapy, rehabilitation