The role of absorption capacity in thermal biofeedback treatment of vascular headache.

The clinical utility of Tellegen's Absorption Scale was examined using a sample of 32 chronic vascular headache patients drawn from a larger treatment study investigating the efficacy of thermal biofeedback with vascular headache. A regression analysis found that acquisition of the hand-warming response was directly related to increase in capacity for absorption. Conversely, a trend was found for absorption capacity to be inversely related to reductions in headache frequency and intensity.

The role of home practice in thermal biofeedback.

The role of regular home practice of hand warming was examined in the thermal biofeedback (TBF) treatment of vascular (migraine and mixed migraine and tension) headache (HA) by giving 12 sessions (over 6 weeks) of TBF to two groups of vascular HA patients (n = 23 per group). One group was asked to practice regularly at home with a home trainer between clinic sessions, whereas no mention of practice was made to the other group. A third group merely monitored HAs.

The role of regular home practice in the relaxation treatment of tension headache.

This study evaluated the contribution of regular home practice in the treatment of tension headache (HA) with progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) by giving 14 tension HA sufferers 10 sessions (over 8 weeks) of standard PMR with home practice and application instructions while 13 additional patients received the same PMR training (except for the omission of cue-controlled relaxation) with no home practice or application instruction. A third group of 6 patients merely monitored HA activity. Both treated groups showed significant reduction in HA activity, whereas the symptom monitoring group did not change.

Psychological changes accompanying non-pharmacological treatment of chronic headache: the effects of outcome.

Several prior studies suggest that non-drug treatment for chronic headache is accompanied by concomitant reductions in patients' anxiety, depression and somatization. It is currently unclear, however, whether such beneficial side effects are a function of degree of headache relief or are due simply to receiving treatment. Most work to date in this area has treated outcome as a dichotomous variable.