Temperature biofeedback and relaxation training in the treatment of migraine headaches

In a previous controlled group outcome study, a comparison of temperature biofeedback with progressive relaxation indicated that relaxation training was more effective in reducing migraine headache activity at the end of treatment. However, follow-up data obtained at 1, 2, and 3 months after the completion of treatment showed no difference between the two groups on any dependent measure. In the current study, 18 of 26 subjects who completed treatment in the original investigation collected headache data and completed a headache questionnaire I year subsequent to the conclusion of treatment in order to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the two treatments. The results indicated that gains achieved in the reduction of headaches during both treatments were maintained at a 1-year follow-up. With the exception of medication consumption (for which relaxation training led to better long-term results) the 1-year follow-up data reveal no differential efficacy for temperature biofeedback or progressive relaxation in treating migraine headaches.     

A retrospective,follow-up study of biofeedback-assisted relaxation therapy in patients with posttraumatic headache

Although biofeedback in the treatment of migraine and tension-type headache has been widely researched, there is little research examining biofeedback therapy in posttraumatic headache (PTH). In this retrospective study, 40 subjects with PTH who had received biofeedback-assisted relaxation at our headache clinic were questioned at least 3 months following the completion of therapy. Subjects were queried about improvements in headache, increases in ability to relax and cope with pain, and overall benefits, lasting effectiveness, and continued use of biofeedback in daily life. Results indicate 53% reported at least moderate improvement in headaches; 80% reported at least moderate improvement in ability to relax and cope with pain; 93% found biofeedback helpful to some degree; 85% felt headache relief achieved through biofeedback had continued at least somewhat; and 95% stated they were continuing to use biofeedback skills in daily life. A correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between response to biofeedback and increased chronicity of the disorder. In other words, the more chronic the disorder, the poorer the response to treatment. A stepwise regression analysis found that chronicity of the disorder and number of treatment sessions significantly affected response to treatment. Data suggest that biofeedback-assisted relaxation should at least be considered when planning treatment strategies for posttraumatic headache.We wish to express our appreciation to Sandra Tomlinson Becky Kinloch, and C. M. Bundrick for their assistance in this project.     

Temperature biofeedback and relaxation training in the treatment of migraine headaches. One-year follow-up.

In a previous controlled group outcome study, a comparison of temperature biofeedback with progressive relaxation indicated that relaxation training was more effective in reducing migraine headache activity at the end of treatment. However, follow-up data obtained at 1, 2, and 3 months after the completion of treatment showed no difference between the two groups on any dependent measure. In the current study, 18 of 26 subjects who completed treatment in the original investigation collected headache data and completed a headache questionnaire 1 year subsequent to the conclusion of treatment in order to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the two treatments. The results indicated that gains achieved in the reduction of headaches during both treatments were maintained at a 1-year follow-up. With the exception of medication consumption (for which relaxation training led to better long-term results) the 1-year follow-up data reveal no differential efficacy for temperature biofeedback or progressive relaxation in treating migraine headaches.     

Surgical treatment of migraine headaches by corrugator muscle resection

The authors, a plastic surgeon (Dirnberger) and a neurologist (Becker), conducted this study after reading the article by of Bahman Guyuron et al. in the August 2000 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (106: 429, 2000). Sixty patients were operated on between June of 2001 and June of 2002; postoperative follow-up ranged between 6 and 18 months. Patients' charts were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of migraine headache according to the criteria of the International Headache Society. Sixty patients (13 men and 47 women) from Austria and four neighboring countries took part in the study. The patients were divided into three groups, based on the severity of their migraines: group A comprised patients with up to 4 days of migraine per month; group B included patients with 5 to 14 days of migraine per month; and group C was composed of patients with more than 15 days of headache per month ("permanent headache") or evidence of drug abuse and drug-related headaches. The effectiveness of the operation was evaluated using the following factors: percentage reduction of headache days; percentage reduction of drugs; percentage reduction of side effects, severity of headaches, and response to drugs; and patient grade of personal satisfaction, using a scale from 1 to 5 [1 = excellent (total elimination of migraine headache) to 5 = insufficient or no improvement]. From the entire group of 60 patients, 17 (28.3 percent) reported a total relief from migraine, 24 (40 percent) reported an essential improvement, and 19 (31.7 percent) reported minimal or no change. Patients with a rather mild form of migraine headache had a much better chance (almost 90 percent in group A and 75 percent in group B) to experience an improvement or total elimination of migraine than those patients (n = 27) from group C with severe migraine, "permanent headaches," and drug-induced headaches. Contrary to the reports by Guyuron, 11 patients who had a very favorable response immediately and in the first weeks after the operation experienced a gradual return of their headaches to preoperative intensity after about 4 postoperative weeks. After 3 months, the results in all patients could be declared permanent. All side effects, such as paraesthesia in the frontal region, disappeared in all patients within 3 to 9 months.     

Biofeedback applications to migraine and tension headaches: A double-blinded outcome study

The efficacy of progressive relaxation, fingertip temperature training, and EMG training of the frontalis muscles was tested against chronic migraine and tension headaches in a double-blinded 3×2 design. All 56 subjects reported being conditioned in the course of the nine 1/2-hour training sessions. Detailed records of perceived severity and duration of the headaches were maintained by the subjects before the study and for at least 3 months after the training period. While even a conservativeF revealed a diminution of perceived severity, of hours/month of headache, and of an index conceived by Budzynski, Stoyva, Adler, and Mullaney (1973), across time, at beyond the .05 level of significance, no specific treatment emerged as clearly most effective for either type of headache. Over time, however, progressive relaxation was not as good as the other procedures in reducing the number of hours/month of headache.     

The relationship between muscle discrimination ability and response to relaxation training in three kinds of headaches

Accurate discrimination of changes in physiological response has been noted as an important element in learning to control that response. Using a magnitude production procedure involving forearm isometric contractions, it was found that the ability to discriminate muscle tension varied across headache groups, with the no-headache control group (r=.76) being most accurate, followed by the tension group (r=.68), the mixed tension and migraine group (r=.60), and finally the migraine group (r=.51). The most important result, however, was that muscle discrimination ability significantly predicted clinical outcome from treatment by relaxation training for tension headache subjects (r=.50) but did not predict outcome for migraine or mixed headache subjects.This research was supported by a grant from NINCDS, NS-15235.     

Stress and psychological factors before a migraine attack: A time-based analysis

Background

The objective of this study is to examine the stress and mood changes of Japanese subjects over the 1–3 days before a migraine headache.

Methods

The study participants were 16 patients with migraines who consented to participate in this study. Each subject kept a headache diary four times a day for two weeks. They evaluated the number of stressful events, daily hassles, domestic and non-domestic stress, anxiety, depressive tendency and irritability by visual analog scales. The days were classified into migraine days, pre-migraine days, buffer days and control days based on the intensity of the headaches and accompanying symptoms, and a comparative study was conducted for each factor on the migraine days, pre-migraine days and control days.

Results

The stressful event value of pre-migraine days showed no significant difference compared to other days. The daily hassle value of pre-migraine days was the highest and was significantly higher than that of buffer days. In non-domestic stress, values on migraine days were significantly higher than on other days, and there was no significant difference between pre-migraine days and buffer days or between pre-migraine days and control days. There was no significant difference in the values of domestic stress between the categories. In non-domestic stress, values on migraine days were significantly higher than other days, and there was no significant difference between pre-migraine days and buffer days or between pre-migraine days and control days.There was little difference in sleep quality on migraine and pre-migraine days, but other psychological factors were higher on migraine days than on pre-migraine days.

Conclusion

Psychosocial stress preceding the onset of migraines by several days was suggested to play an important role in the occurrence of migraines. However, stress 2–3 days before a migraine attack was not so high as it has been reported to be in the United States and Europe. There was no significant difference in the values of psychological factors between pre-migraine days and other days.

     

Oxidative Stress in Migraine with and Without Aura

Migraine is the most common neurological disorder, but the molecular basis is still not completely understood. An impairment of mitochondrial oxidative metabolism might play a role in the pathophysiology. The goal of this study was to investigate the differences in oxidative stress status with the measurement of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the migraine patients with or without aura and attack. There were 56 patients (46 female, 10 male) in the migraine group and 25 matched healthy subjects in the control group. The patients comprised 37 with migraine without aura (MWoA], 19 with migraine with aura (MWA), and 22 with headache attack. The MDA levels of patients in the migraine group were significantly higher than that in the control group. The SOD activity was significantly higher in the MWA as compared to MWoA. There was no significant correlation between these levels and headache attack period. Conclusively, in this preliminary study, we had found increased oxidative stress in the migraine patients especially the patients with MWA. Further knowledge about this issue may contribute the cause and complications of migraine and may be essential for development of treatment approaches.     

The Impact of Dyspepsia on Symptom Severity and Quality of Life in Adults with Headache

Background

Dyspepsia and headache frequently co-exist, but the clinical implication of this association is uncertain. We planned to examine the prevalence and impact of dyspepsia in adults with headache.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a secondary care setting. Clinical, psychological and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) data were compared between subjects with headache and controls (non-headache subjects). The impact of dyspepsia was analysed further in subjects with headache alone.

Results

280 subjects (93 cases with headache and 187 matched controls) were recruited. The following baseline characteristics of subjects were as follows: mean age 45.0±17.3 years, 57.0% females and ethnic distribution—Malaysian = 45 (48.4%), Chinese n = 24 (25.8%) and Indians n = 24 (25.8%). Headache sub-types among cases with headache were as follows: tension-type headache (TTH) n = 53 (57.0%) and migraine n = 40 (43.0%). Dyspepsia was more prevalent in cases with headache compared to controls (25.8% vs 12.8%, p = 0.011), and headache was independently associated with dyspepsia (OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.39–5.43). Among cases with headache, there was a trend towards a higher prevalence of dyspepsia in those with migraine (27.5%) compared to TTH (24.5%). Subjects with headache and dyspepsia, compared to those with headache alone, had a greater severity of headache symptoms (63.67±22.85 mm vs 51.20 ±24.0 mm VAS, p = 0.029). Overall HRQOL scores were lower in headache subjects with dyspepsia (EQ-5D summary score 0.82±0.18 vs 0.90 ±0.16, p = 0.037 and EQ-5D VAS 62.08±17.50 mm vs 72.62 ±18.85 mm, p = 0.018), compared to those without dyspepsia.

Conclusion

Dyspepsia is associated with more severe headache symptoms and results in a lower HRQOL in patients with headache.     

Migraine: Intelligence,Social Class,and Familial Prevalence

Groups of individuals with headache, unilateral headache, and migraine, and a fourth group who had not had a headache in the previous year, were identified by questionnaire from a random sample of adults in the general population. Intelligence and social class were assessed in about 400 individuals. There was no evidence that individuals with migraine were more intelligent or of higher social class. There was, however, a suggestion that the more intelligent individuals with migraine, and those in social classes I and II, were more likely to consult a doctor for their headaches. This trend might explain the origin of the hypotheses associating migraine with intelligence and with social class.Random samples of individuals with migraine with headache and without headache in the previous year were the probands for a family study. There were 524 first-degree relatives over 21 years of age who lived in South Wales. Headache histories, obtained “blindly” from over 99% of these relatives with a standard questionnaire, were classified as migraine, possible migraine, headache, or without headache in the previous year. The prevalence of migraine in the families of the migrainous probands was nearly twice as high as the prevalence in the other families, but this difference was not statistically significant. It is suggested that family history should not be included in the definition of migraine and that heredity is much less important in migraine than is usually supposed.     

Spinal Cord Injury and Migraine Headache: A Population-Based Study

Migraine headaches are a common neurological condition, negatively impacting health and quality of life. Among potential risk factors for migraine headache, risk of migraine headaches was elevated in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The association between migraines and SCI is intriguing to consider from the perspective that migraine headaches may be acquired in response to damage in the spinal cord. The primary objective of this study was to further examine the association between SCI and migraine headache, controlling for potential confounding variables. A secondary objective was to determine the impact of migraine headaches on self-perceived health. Data from a sample of 61,047 participants were obtained from the cross-sectional Canadian Community Health Survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the association between SCI and migraine headache using probability weights and adjusting for confounders. The multivariable age- and sex-adjusted model revealed a strong association between SCI and migraine headache, with an adjusted odds ratio for migraine of 4.82 (95% confidence interval [3.02, 7.67]) among those with SCI compared to those without SCI. Further, individuals who experienced both SCI and migraine tended to report poorer perceived general health compared with the other groups (i.e., SCI and no migraine). In conclusion, this study established a strong association between SCI and migraine headache. Further research is needed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. Improvements in clinical practice to minimize this issue could result in significant improvements in quality of life.     

Relaxation practice after biofeedback therapy: A long-term follow-up study of utilization and effectiveness

This follow-up study 1 to 5 years after biofeedback therapy, involving 58 patients in six diagnostic groups (migraine headache, tension headache, mixed headache, chronic pain, anxiety, and essential hypertension), revealed that 86% of the patients who continued to practice relaxation techniques improved, while only 50% of those who had stopped practice improved (p=.04). Among the patients who improved, 91% had continued to practice and only 9% had stopped practice, while among the patients who did not improve, 63% had continued to practice and 36% had stopped practice. Patients who were practicing only “occasionally,” “as needed,” or “when stressed” improved as much as or more than those who practiced regularly and frequently (i.e., at least weekly): 89% versus 77% improved, respectively (p=n.s). There was no difference in the occurrence or frequency of relaxation practice between patients who have been out of therapy 3 to 5 years and those who completed therapy more recently, or between those who were in brief versus longer-term therapy. Although continued relaxation practice is significantly related to the maintenance of long-term improvement, a few patients manage to improve without it, or continue to practice yet relapse. Furthermore, it appears that only occasional relaxation practice after therapy is sufficient to maintain long-term therapeutic gains.     

Classification and Clinical Features of Headache Disorders in Pakistan: A Retrospective Review of Clinical Data

Background

Morbidity associated with primary headache disorders is a major public health problem with an overall prevalence of 46%. Tension-type headache and migraine are the two most prevalent causes. However, headache has not been sufficiently studied as a cause of morbidity in the developing world. Literature on prevalence and classification of these disorders in South Asia is scarce. The aim of this study is to describe the classification and clinical features of headache patients who seek medical advice in Pakistan.

Methods and Results

Medical records of 255 consecutive patients who presented to a headache clinic at a tertiary care hospital were reviewed. Demographic details, onset and lifetime duration of illness, pattern of headache, associated features and family history were recorded. International Classification of Headache Disorders version 2 was applied.66% of all patients were women and 81% of them were between 16 and 49 years of age. Migraine was the most common disorder (206 patients) followed by tension-type headache (58 patients), medication-overuse headache (6 patients) and cluster headache (4 patients). Chronic daily headache was seen in 99 patients. Patients with tension-type headache suffered from more frequent episodes of headache than patients with migraine (p<0.001). Duration of each headache episode was higher in women with menstrually related migraine (p = 0.015). Median age at presentation and at onset was lower in patients with migraine who reported a first-degree family history of the disease (p = 0.003 and p<0.001 respectively).

Conclusions/Significance

Patients who seek medical advice for headache in Pakistan are usually in their most productive ages. Migraine and tension-type headache are the most common clinical presentations of headache. Onset of migraine is earlier in patients with first-degree family history. Menstrually related migraine affects women with headache episodes of longer duration than other patients and it warrants special therapeutic consideration. Follow-up studies to describe epidemiology and burden of headache in Pakistan are needed.     

Headache and Blood Pressure in the Community

Following a survey of headaches, in which questionnaires were sent to a random sample of the general population, groups of individuals with headache, unilateral headache, or migraine, and a fourth group who had not had a headache in the previous year were examined. Measurements of arterial blood pressure on 414 individuals gave no evidence of any differences between these groups for either systolic or diastolic pressure. The number of individuals that could be regarded as hypertensive in this community-based study was small, but it is concluded that most individuals with headache, and with migraine, have blood pressures similar to those who do not have headaches.     

心脏右向左分流对偏头痛患者临床症状的影响

目的:探讨心脏右向左分流(RLS)对偏头痛患者临床特征是否存在影响,并研究RLS分级与头痛强度之间的关系。方法:选择2016年6月-2018年12月青岛大学附属医院收治的偏头痛患者216例作为偏头痛组,选择于青岛大学附属医院体检的健康志愿者60例作为对照组。216例偏头痛患者根据有无RLS分为有RLS偏头痛组(127例)和无RLS偏头痛组(89例)。有RLS偏头痛患者根据RLS分级将其分为大分流组(n=51)、中分流组(n=11)和小分流组(n=65)。观察对照组与偏头痛组RLS情况,比较有RLS偏头痛组和无RLS偏头痛组患者的一般资料情况,比较大分流组、中分流组和小分流组患者的一般资料情况,采用多因素Logistic回归分析偏头痛患者产生RLS的危险因素。结果:对照组与偏头痛组小分流、中分流患病率比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05),而偏头痛组大分流患病率高于对照组(P0.05)。有RLS偏头痛组患者的视觉先兆、感觉先兆的比例均大于无RLS偏头痛组,头痛初始年龄均小于无RLS偏头痛组,头痛强度均高于无RLS偏头痛组(P0.05),两组患者年龄、性别、吸烟、饮酒、高血压、糖尿病、高血脂、运动先兆、遗传、头痛频率、头痛持续时间比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。不同RLS分级的偏头痛患者的视觉先兆、感觉先兆、头痛初始年龄、头痛强度整体比较差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。多因素Logistic回归分析显示,视觉先兆、感觉先兆、头痛初始年龄是偏头痛患者产生RLS的独立危险因素(P0.05)。结论:偏头痛发病年龄较小或有视觉先兆、感觉先兆可能提示偏头痛患者伴有RLS,RLS分级与头痛强度没有关系。     

Comprehensive surgical treatment of migraine headaches

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of surgical deactivation of migraine headache trigger sites. Of 125 patients diagnosed with migraine headaches, 100 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 25 served as controls, with 4:1 allocation. Patients in the treatment group were injected with botulinum toxin A for identification of trigger sites. Eighty-nine patients who noted improvement in their migraine headaches for 4 weeks underwent surgery. Eighty-two of the 89 patients (92 percent) in the treatment group who completed the study demonstrated at least 50 percent reduction in migraine headache frequency, duration, or intensity compared with the baseline data; 31 (35 percent) reported elimination and 51 (57 percent) experienced improvement over a mean follow-up period of 396 days. In comparison, three of 19 control patients (15.8 percent) recorded reduction in migraine headaches during the 1-year follow-up (p < 0.001), and no patients observed elimination. All variables for the treatment group improved significantly when compared with the baseline data and the control group, including the Migraine-Specific Questionnaire, the Migraine Disability Assessment score, and the Short Form-36 Health Survey. The mean annualized cost of migraine care for the treatment group (925 dollars) was reduced significantly compared with the baseline expense (7612 dollars) and the control group (5530 dollars) (p < 0.001). The mean monthly number of days lost from work for the treatment group (1.2) was reduced significantly compared with the baseline data (4.41) and the control group (4.4) (p = 0.003). The common adverse effects related to injection of botulinum toxin A included discomfort at the injection site in 27 patients after 227 injections (12 percent), temple hollowing in 19 of 82 patients (23 percent), neck weakness in 15 of 55 patients (27 percent), and eyelid ptosis in nine patients (10 percent). The common complications of surgical treatment were temporary dryness of the nose in 12 of 62 patients who underwent septum and turbinate surgery (19.4 percent), rhinorrhea in 11 (17.7 percent), intense scalp itching in seven of 80 patients who underwent forehead surgery (8.8 percent), and minor hair loss in five (6.3 percent). Surgical deactivation of migraine trigger sites can eliminate or significantly reduce migraine symptoms. Additional studies are necessary to clarify the mechanism of action and to determine the long-term results.     

Parenteral dexamethasone for acute severe migraine headache: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials for preventing recurrence

Objective To examine the effectiveness of parenteral corticosteroids for the relief of acute severe migraine headache and prevention of recurrent headaches.Design Meta-analysis.Data sources Electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, LILACS, and CINAHL), conference proceedings, clinical practice guidelines, contacts with industry, and correspondence with authors.Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials in which corticosteroids (alone or combined with standard abortive therapy) were compared with placebo or any other standard treatment for acute migraine in adults.Review methods Two reviewers independently assessed relevance, inclusion, and study quality. Weighted mean differences and relative risks were calculated and are reported with 95% confidence intervals.Results From 666 potentially relevant abstracts, seven studies met the inclusion criteria. All included trials used standard abortive therapy and subsequently compared single dose parenteral dexamethasone with placebo, examining pain relief and recurrence of headache within 72 hours. Dexamethasone and placebo provided similar acute pain reduction (weighted mean difference 0.37, 95% confidence interval −0.20 to 0.94). Dexamethasone was, however, more effective than placebo in reducing recurrence rates (relative risk 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.60 to 0.90). Side effect profiles between dexamethasone and placebo groups were similar.Conclusion When added to standard abortive therapy for migraine headache, single dose parenteral dexamethasone is associated with a 26% relative reduction in headache recurrence (number needed to treat=9) within 72 hours.     

Change Mechanisms Associated with Combined Relaxation/EMG Biofeedback Training for Chronic Tension Headache

Therapeutic mechanisms hypothesized to underlie improvements in tension headache activity achieved with combined relaxation and eleclromyographic (EMG) biofeedback therapy were examined. These therapeutic mechanisms included (1) changes in EMG activity in frontal and trapezii muscles, (2) changes in central pain modulation as indexed by the duration of the second exteroceptive silent period (ES2), and (3) changes in headache locus of control and self-efficacy. Forty-four young adults with chronic tension-type headaches were assigned either to six sessions of relaxation and EMG biofeedback training (N = 30) or to an assessment only control group (N = 14) that required three assessment sessions. Measures of self-efficacy and locus of control were collected at pre- and posttreatment, and ES2 was evaluated at the beginning and end of the first, third, and lost session. EMG was monitored before, during, and following training trials. Relaxation/EMG biofeedback training effectively reduced headache activity: 51.7% of subjects who received relaxation/biofeedback therapy recorded at least a 50% reduction in headache activity following treatment, while controls failed to improve on any measure. Improvements in headache activity in treated subjects were correlated with increases in self-efficacy induced by biofeedback training but not with changes in EMG activity or in ES2 durations. These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that cognitive changes underlie the effectiveness of relaxation and biofeedback therapies, at least in young adult tension-type headache sufferers.     

Aerobic endurance training versus relaxation training in patients with migraine (ARMIG): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Migraine is one of the most frequent headache diseases and impairs patients' quality of life. Up to now, many randomized studies reported efficacy of prophylactic therapy with medications such as beta-blockers or anti-epileptic drugs. Non-medical treatment, like aerobic endurance training, is considered to be an encouraging alternative in migraine prophylaxis. However, there is still a lack of prospective, high-quality randomized trials. We therefore designed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of aerobic endurance training versus relaxation training in patients with migraine (ARMIG). METHODS: This is a single-center, open-label, prospective, randomized trial. Sixty participants with migraine are randomly allocated to either endurance training or a relaxation group. After baseline headache diary documentation over at least 4 weeks, participants in the exercise group will start moderate aerobic endurance training under a sport therapist's supervision at least 3 times a week over a 12-week period. The second group will perform Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation training guided by a trained relaxation therapist, also at least 3 times a week over a 12-week period. Both study arms will train in groups of up to 10 participants. More frequent individual training is possible. The follow-up period will be 12 weeks after the training period. The general state of health, possible state of anxiety or depression, impairments due to the headache disorder, pain-related disabilities, the headache-specific locus of control, and the motor fitness status are measured with standardized questionnaires. DISCUSSION: The study design is adequate to generate meaningful results. The trial will be helpful in gaining important data on exercise training for non-medical migraine prophylaxis. Trial registration The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01407861.     

Muscle discrimination ability at three muscle sites in three headache groups

The present study examined the ability of three headache groups (migraine, mixed migraine/tension, and tension) to accurately discriminate subjective levels of muscle tension at the forearm flexor, frontalis, and trapezius muscle sites. Discrimination ability was assessed at pre- and posttreatment using a psychophysical method of magnitude production. Results show that the ability to discriminate muscle tension levels at pretreatment varied across the headache groups, with migraineurs being the most accurate (r=.854), followed by the mixed headache group (r=.785), and finally the tension headache group (r=.732). Discrimination ability significantly increased at the posttreatment assessment. A multiple regression analysis showed that pretreatment performance on the muscle discrimination task significantly predicted outcome (r=.75) from relaxation and biofeedback training for migraine patients but not for the mixed or tension headache groups.This research was supported by a grant from NINCDS, NS-15235.