Abstract: Objective To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of nerve stimulator guided cervical 2 and 3 spinal nerve block of the posterior‑medial branch combined with extracts from rabbit skin inflamed by vaccinia virus for injection on patients with cervicogenic headache. Methods A total of 60 patients who were diagnosed with cervical headache were enrolled. According to the random number table method, they were divided into two groups (n=30): a combined treatment group and a control group. Both groups underwent C2 and C3 dorsal medial branch block under the guidance of nerve stimulator, where the combined treatment group was intramuscularly injected with extracts from rabbit skin inflamed by vaccinia virus. Their Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score was assessed before treatment and 1, 7, 14 d, 1 month and 3 months after treatment. The VAS weighted calculation was used to evaluate the degree of pain relief in the two groups. Results There was no statistical difference in age, sex ratio, and course of disease between the two groups (P>0.05). Then, 7, 14 d, 1 month and 3 months after treatment, the combined treatment group (2.3±1.1, 1.5±0.6, 1.3±0.5, 2.1±1.2) showed significantly lower VAS scores than the control group (3.5±1.2, 3.8±1.1, 4.0±1.5, 4.3±1.7) (P<0.05). Also, 7, 14 d, 1 month and 3 months after treatment, the total effective rate was remarkably higher in the combined treatment group (80%, 92%, 94%, 88%) than that of the control group (65%, 58%, 55%, 50%) (P<0.05). Conclusions Nerve stimulator guided cervical 2 and 3 spinal nerve block of the posterior‑medial branch combined with extracts from rabbit skin inflamed by vaccinia virus for injection can provide lasting and satisfactory effects on patients with cervical headache.
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