Comparison Between Greater Occipital Nerve Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency in the Management of Chronic Migraine

March 30, 2026 updated by: Shehab Mahmoud Mohamed, Sohag University

Comparative Study of Greater Occipital Nerve Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency in the Management of Chronic Migraine : Clinical Outcomes and Neurophysiological Correlates A Prospective Randomized Study

Comparative Study of Greater Occipital Nerve Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency in the Management of Chronic Migraine : Clinical Outcomes and Neurophysiological Correlates A Prospective Randomized Study

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

70

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • patient with Diagnosis of chronic migraine for > 3 months.
  • migraine days ≥ 15 days/month.
  • Failure or inadequate response to standard medical treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Secondary headache disorders.
  • Coagulopathy or anticoagulant therapy.
  • Infection at injection site.
  • History of cervical spine surgery.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Previous PRF or occipital nerve surgery within last 3 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Group of Greater Occiptal nerve Block , GONB

Injection Procedure:

  1. Local skin infiltration with 1-2 mL of 1% lidocaine at puncture site.
  2. GON block using 3-5 mL of local anesthetic, optionally combined with 20-40 mg triamcinolone ( Bilaterally )
  3. Needle placement confirmed by ultrasound visualization of the nerve and spread of injectate.
  4. Observe patient for 15-20 minutes post-injection for immediate adverse events.
Drug: Greater occiptal nerve block

Injection Procedure:

  1. Local skin infiltration with 1-2 mL of 1% lidocaine at puncture site.
  2. GON block using 3-5 mL of local anesthetic, optionally combined with 20-40 mg triamcinolone ( Bilaterally )
  3. Needle placement confirmed by ultrasound visualization of the nerve and spread of injectate.
  4. Observe patient for 15-20 minutes post-injection for immediate adverse events.
Other Names:
  • GONB
Active Comparator: Group of Pulsed Radiofrequency , PRF
  1. Introduce RF cannula adjacent to GON under ultrasound guidance.
  2. Confirm sensory stimulation: paresthesia at occipital scalp at <0.5 V.

  3. PRF settings:

    • Temperature: ≤42°C
    • Pulse duration: 20 ms
    • Frequency: 2 Hz
    • Duration: 120 seconds per cycle, 2 cycles per side
  4. Continuous monitoring of patient comfort and vital signs.
Device: Pulsed radiofrequency
  1. Introduce RF cannula adjacent to GON under ultrasound guidance.
  2. Confirm sensory stimulation: paresthesia at occipital scalp at <0.5 V.

  3. PRF settings:

    • Temperature: ≤42°C
    • Pulse duration: 20 ms
    • Frequency: 2 Hz
    • Duration: 120 seconds per cycle, 2 cycles per side
  4. Continuous monitoring of patient comfort and vital signs.
Other Names:
  • PRF

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The change in the VAS score of Pain over period of follow up
Time Frame: 6 months
after do GONB and Pulsed radio frequency we assess improvement of Episodic Pain over period of Follow up
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sohag University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Soh-Med--26-3-1MD

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe