A successful treatment for a patient with migraine using biofeedback and relaxation

Abstract

Meta-analytic literature reviews of biofeedback therapy and relaxation had consistently identified clinically significant reductions in migraine. But these therapeutic effects for the psychological and sociological factors in the patients with migraine were unknown. We tried combination of thermal and electromyogram feedback and relaxation for a case of migraine without aura. We examined not only biological factors but also psycho-social factors by ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Biofeedback therapy produced larger reductions in headache activity, nausea, analgesic medication use, stress, depression, anxiety, irritability, headache-related disability. These effects of biofeedback and relaxation continued to improve at a 10 weeks follow-up in the biological and psychosocial factors.