Results of a controlled, experimental, outcome study of nondrug treatments for the control of migraine headaches.

Headache variables were examined for 136 subjects who participated for 36 weeks in one of four groups--No Treatment, Autogenic Phrases, Electromyographic (EMG) Biofeedback, and Thermal Biofeedback. All subjects kept daily records of headache activity and medication usage and participated in 22 laboratory sessions during which frontalis electromyographic and hand-temperature measurements were taken; those in the three treatment groups practiced at home. There was a substantial reduction in headache variables in all groups. The No-Treatment Group differed significantly from the treatment groups combined, with the least reduction in headache variables. The Thermal Biofeedback Group vs. EMG Biofeedback and Autogenic Phrases Groups showed a suggestive trend toward improvement in the frequency and intensity of total headache.