Biofeedback in the Treatment of Tension Headache

Nuechterlein, Keith H.; Holroyd, Jean

doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1980.01780210024002

Cited by 42 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The inclusion of relaxation training in the biofeedback conditions assumes special significance in this regard because it has been shown by itself to be an effective treatment for tension headache. 7,19,22 Thus, inferences cannot be drawn specifically about the impact of biofeedback per se or of any particular school of brief psychotherapy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although more recent research has not fully resolved issues surrounding the mechanisms that underlie biofeedback and its efficacy in relation to relaxation training, it has been established as a potent treatment for muscle contraction headache. 7,19,21,222 Several anecdotal reports of success in treating headache by traditional, long-term psychotherapy are available, 23 but conventional verbal psychotherapy appears in the main to be ineffective. Practical and psychodynamic factors probably contribute to the limited success of this modality.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, the handful of comparative treatment studies to date have dealt with the differential effectiveness of EMG training per se and alternative relaxation training regimens. 1,7,27 In one of the very few attempts to compare a form of psychotherapy with biofeedback, Holroyd et al 26 found that stress-coping training was more effective than either biofeedback or a waiting-list control. However, the results are constrained by the observations that reduction in EMG activity was indeed associated with biofeedback and by the failure to include a treatment condition encompassing the curative ingredients of both psychotherapy and biofeedback.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Biofeedback, Brief Psychotherapy and Tension Headache

et al. 1983

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SYNOPSIS The present study was performed to compare the effectiveness of broadly‐based biofeedback and brief eclectic psychotherapy in alleviating tension headache. Twenty‐four patients diagnosed as suffering from this disorder were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: biofeedback, brief psychotherapy, biofeedback plus brief psychotherapy and waiting‐list control. Results indicated the equivalent effectiveness of the three active treatments in ameliorating various behavioral and psychophysiological aspects of tension headache. Contrary to expectation, broad‐gauged biofeedback produced more psychological gains than brief eclectic psychotherapy, The behavioral and psychophysiological findings are discussed in terms of a shared symptom‐removal focus, whereas the unexpected psychological findings are considered in light of headache patients' characteristic resistance to the psychological explanations of their illness afforded by psychotherapy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Biofeedback, Brief Psychotherapy and Tension Headache

et al. 1983

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“…1 It is argued here that although conventional frontalis electrode placement is an effective tool, it has more often been selected because of convention rather than as a consequence of empirical evidence, There is, in fact, little empirical support for the assumption that a decrement in frontalis EMG will result in a reduction elsewhere in a person's musculature, specifically in neck, corrugator or scalp muscles, areas likely to be active in chronic muscle contraction headache. 1 It is argued here that although conventional frontalis electrode placement is an effective tool, it has more often been selected because of convention rather than as a consequence of empirical evidence, There is, in fact, little empirical support for the assumption that a decrement in frontalis EMG will result in a reduction elsewhere in a person's musculature, specifically in neck, corrugator or scalp muscles, areas likely to be active in chronic muscle contraction headache.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Neck Musculature and EMG Biofeedback in Treatment of Muscle Contraction Headache

Hudzinski

1983

Headache

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SYNOPSIS Muscle contraction headache is believed to result from sustained contraction of muscles involving the neck, scalp, and frontalis musculature. This study stresses the clinical importance of examining neck muscle activity in 16 subjects. Two questions are addressed: (1) Do subjects who in the process of treatment for headaches originating from the neck and who received EMG feedback from frontalis and neck musculature select the neck feedback site as more useful in the control of headache? (2) Is frontalis activity as measured by the EMG a measure of the level of activity in other portions of the skeletal system, namely neck musculature? Results indicate that neck involvement varies significantly among patients complaining of chronic muscle contraction headaches, and that a substantial number of subjects experience far more neck than frontalis activity and benefit from behavioral techniques applied to that area. Our findings indicate that attending specifically to neck tissue is a useful therapeutic goal. Consequently, post‐treatment results show significant reductions in neck tissue muscle activity, especially for patients reporting significant neck symptomatology and/or those with high levels of EMG neck activity who reported that behavioral techniques applied to the neck area were helpful for controlling the muscle activity related to their headaches.

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“…1 At the present time, each of these approaches basically yields comparable relief and has been demonstrated to aid the patient in relaxing and thereby relieving muscle contraction headache. 2 In the practice of day-to-day work, behavioral clinicians often come to assume that a patient's ability to self-regulate muscle activity will be a consequence of either a structured "biofeedback method" or "relaxation therapy procedure" which the clinician employs. Self-regulation is not, however, a consequence of rote biofeedback or relaxation approaches but rather the application of procedures which combine to form the technique.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Significance of Muscle Discrimination Training in the Treatment of Chronic Muscle Contraction Headache

Hudzinski¹

1984

Headache

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SYNOPSIS The present study was undertaken to determine if chronic muscle contraction headache subjects who received training in muscle discrimination during a headache treatment program that included the standard application of behavioral procedures would be able to relieve muscle activity more effectively than those subjects who received only the conventional program. Thirty‐eight subjects medically diagnosed as having muscle contraction headache were randomly assigned to one of the above treatment conditions or groups. Thirty subjects completed the ten‐week study and treatment program. Stimulus discrimination training, consisting of exercises involving muscles of facial expression, EMG biofeedback and differential reinforcement, was employed. Results indicated that both groups markedly improved. Although the amount of change between the two groups was not statistically significant, the direction of change improved for the experimental group who received the increased, intensified muscle discrimination training. The findings suggest that clinicians who emphasize muscle discrimination training with this type of headache will most likely achieve better results in the way of treatment outcome than without that emphasis.

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Biofeedback in the Treatment of Tension Headache

Cited by 42 publications

References 41 publications

Biofeedback, Brief Psychotherapy and Tension Headache

Biofeedback, Brief Psychotherapy and Tension Headache

Neck Musculature and EMG Biofeedback in Treatment of Muscle Contraction Headache

The Significance of Muscle Discrimination Training in the Treatment of Chronic Muscle Contraction Headache

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