ERIC Number: ED132488
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1976-Jun
Pages: 22
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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EISSN: N/A
Autogenic Training and Hand Temperature Biofeedback in the Treatment of Migraine: A Preliminary Analysis.
Jessup, B.; And Others
The possibility of alleviating migraine headaches by autogenic relaxation training, with or without hand temperature biofeedback, was assessed. The study examined five independent groups in a bi-directional control group design. Volunteer migraine sufferers served as subjects, each participating for 12 weeks. The first four weeks of the study were used to collect physiological baselines and headache symptom and personality data. During the remaining eight weeks two groups attempted to learn hand warming at home by listening daily to an autogenic cassette. Similarly, two groups attempted to learn hand cooling, while the fifth group continued only to keep the headache diary and visit the laboratory. Migraine frequency, intensity and duration all decreased significantly over the course of the study, but these decreases were not related to physiological control, which the subjects did not exhibit. The amount of headache reduction (1/3) was equal to the characteristic benefits of placebo drug treatment. Relaxation training and biofeedback are probably more effective placebos for the treatment of migraine than experimenter attention and headache record keeping. (Author)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A