O uso da liberação miofascial na cefaleia cervicogênica: revisão de literatura

Abstract

Cervicogenic headache is classified as a secondary condition resulting from musculoskeletal dysfunctions and alterations located in the cervical spine. Clinically, it is characterized by referred headache originating from anatomical structures such as muscles, joints, and ligaments, usually accompanied by neck pain, limited range of motion, muscle hypertonia, trigger points, and postural changes. In the context of physiotherapy treatment, myofascial release stands out as a promising manual technique, acting directly on fascial restrictions and soft tissue tension, aspects frequently involved in maintaining and exacerbating the painful condition. This study aimed to analyze, through a literature review, the benefits of myofascial release in the physiotherapeutic treatment of cervicogenic headache. A total of 19 publications in Portuguese and English were analyzed, prioritizing studies published between 2016 and 2026 and selected from SciELO, PubMed/MEDLINE, PEDro, Virtual Health Library (BVS), Google Scholar and scientific journals in the health field. The results suggest that myofascial release may help reduce pain intensity, decrease headache episode frequency, improve cervical range of motion, reduce functional disability, and promote greater comfort and better performance in daily activities. These effects appear to be more consistent when the technique is combined with therapeutic exercises, cervical motor control, postural correction and self-care guidance. It is concluded that myofascial release is a promising and complementary resource in the management of cervicogenic headache and should be part of an individualized and multimodal physiotherapeutic approach. Despite the positive findings, further clinical studies with larger samples, standardized protocols, comparison between techniques and medium- and long-term follow-up are still required.