eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal 0974-6242 2025-09-30 18 3 2179 2186 10.13005/bpj/3245 66662 article Kamatchi Kaviraja 1 Bhuvana Kumar 2 Kaviraja Natarajan 2 Tanya Bernadite Arokiaraj 1 Faculty of physiotherapy, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai. Pediatric developmental Therapist, Kavi’s Physiotherapy and Pediatric Therapy Clinic., Avadi, Chennai. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of the progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercise versus neural mobilization on tension-type headaches. Tension-type headache (TTH) is the most prevalent kind of primary headache. These headaches occur in 35-78% of populations. About 44 percent of patients suffering from TTH have demonstrated restricted ability to function, resulting in disability and a lower quality of life, according to the worldwide categorization. Therefore, this research aimed to compare the impact of neural mobilization with PMR for patients suffering from TTH. This study is a pre-post comparative experimental study, and Study duration is about 6 months; the treatment duration is about 6 sessions per week for 8 weeks. The study setting was the ACS Medical College and Hospital campus. For study size, there were 40 subjects recruited; the study sampling is random. Sampling method: Subjects were assessed for inclusion criteria of age group between 19 and 25 years; both males and females were included; clinical diagnosis of tension headache; and exclusion criteria of other type/cause of headache, stroke, brain tumor, and meningitis. The Lakaev Academic Stress Response Scale-2 (LASRS-2) and Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6) were taken as outcome measures. 40 patients who fulfilled the criteria were selected based on the simple random sampling method. Of the 40 patients, 20 individuals will be allotted to group A, and the remaining 20 individuals will be allotted to group B. Interventions were given for 6 sessions per week for 8 weeks. Group A received progressive muscle relaxation exercises, while Group B received neural mobilization. When comparing the LASRS-2 along with HIT-6 scores of Groups A and B before and after the test, there is a significant variance in mean values at P≤0.05. The Lakaev Academic Stress Response Scale-2 (LASRS-2) is a 26-item self-rated questionnaire used to measure academic stress response across four domains: affective, behavioral, cognitive, and physiological, with higher scores indicating greater academic stress.  The Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6) assesses the impact of headaches on daily life, with a total score ranging from 36 to 78, where higher scores indicate greater impact.  The HIT-6 score is categorized into four levels: little or no impact (≤49), some impact (50-55), substantial impact (56-59), and severe impact (60-78). The research’s conclusion is that PMR technique has a great role in reducing pain intensity and stress levels and improving quality of life for tension headaches when compared to neural mobilization. https://biomedpharmajournal.org/vol18no3/comparing-progressive-muscle-relaxation-and-neural-mobilization-for-tension-type-headaches-a-randomized-comparative-study-on-pain-and-stress-reduction/ Headache management HIT-6 LASRS-2 Neural mobilization Physiotherapy interventions Progressive muscle relaxation