Psychological Assessment and Treatment of Chronic Benign Headache

Subjects with chronic migraine or tension headaches will receive 12 sessions of biofeedback or relaxation training after fulfilling screening, intake interviews, & psychological testing requirements. They will chart headache pain, anger level, & medication usage throughout baseline, treatment, and 3 month follow-up periods.

Migraine sufferers will receive a combination of progressive muscle relaxation training and thermal biofeedback (learning to warm hands). Subjects are randomly assigned to receive treatment either in the office with the therapist or from another room (where communication will be over a computer). The research is designed to compare the effectiveness of treatment based on location.

Tension headache sufferers will receive training in how to reduce their muscle tension levels. They will be randomly assigned to have equipment monitor muscle tension levels either in the forehead or shoulder regions. The research is designed to compare the effectiveness of feedback to the forehead versus the shoulder muscles.

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Key information

Conditions

Headache Brain Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Cerebrovascular Disorders Headache Disorders Headache Disorders, Primary Headache Disorders, Secondary Migraine Migraine Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Stress Headache Tension Headache Tension-Type Headache Vascular Diseases Vascular Headache Vascular Headaches

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Augusta, Georgia, 30904-6285, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Subjects must be at least 18 years old and have chronic headaches of any of the following types: migraine, coexisting migraine/tension, or tension. Participants must be intellectually intact and have no significant physical, neurological, or psychological problems. They must have seen a physician for their headaches within the past year. They must successfully complete screening/interview/testing process prior to admission to treatment.

All vascular headache subjects must meet the criteria for chronic migraine or coexisting migraine and tension type headache as set forth by the Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society.

All tension headache subjects must meet the criteria for either episodic or chronic tension headache set forth by the Headache Classification Committee, as well as the Ad Hoc Committee's criteria for tension headache.

Treatment and study plan

Relaxation training & thermal biofeedback

Behavioral

Surface EMG biofeedback

Behavioral

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

US Department of Veterans Affairs

Fed

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 1999
Study completion: 2003
First posted: Jul 5, 2001
Registry last updated: Jan 21, 2009

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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