Biofeedback Therapy for Muscle Contraction Headache Patients

Abstract

EMG biofeedback therapy is usually used in patients with muscle contraction headache. According to repoorts from various institutions, the effectiveness rate of this particular therapeutic method ranged between 62 % and 100 %. The corresponding figure obtained at our clinic was 74.2%. Symptoms of muscle contraction headache are strongly influenced by psychological factops; physical and psychic stress has close bearings upon headache. It has qeen long pointed out that a characteristic personality pattern exists in patients with headache of this type. We investigated these psychological factors for their eventual relationship with the effectiveness of biofeedback therapy in 32 patients. The results indicate that the effectiveness rate tend to be higher in patients with a lesser anxiety or depressive tendency as well as in those with a less marked personality deviation. Even though some reports state that biofeedback therapy brings about an improvement os anxiety and depressive tendency, it seems that biofeedback therapy is unsuited fo^I individuals with severe anxiety and pronounced depressive tendency.