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[Duration of the exteroceptive suppression of temporal muscle activity as a parameter for therapy control in
J Liepert1, M Tegenthoff, A Willweber-Strumpf
1Poliklinik der Ruhruniversität Bochum, Berufsgenossenschaftliche Krankenanstalten „Bergmannsheil”, Bochum, Deutschland.
Unlabelled:
The period of late exteroceptive suppression (ES 2) of the temporalis muscle is often shortened in patients with chronic tension-type headache. The present study was conducted to find out whether the ES 2 is influenced by muscle relaxation training and whether it is rather a state or a trait marker.
Methods:
The ES 2 was measured in seven female outpatients with chronic tension-type headache before, during, and after a 6-week period of muscle relaxation training. Single electrical stimuli were applied periorally during maximum teeth clenching, while the activity of temporalis muscle was recorded with surface EMG electrodes.
Results:
Before treatment, duration of the ES 2 was significantly shorter in patients than in a control group. Immediately after the 6-week period the ES 2 was normalized and no longer different from that in the controls. Another 16 weeks later the duration of ES 2 was reduced again, but had not returned to pretreatment values. The ES 2 data correlated slightly better with the patients' feeling of being relaxed than with reduction of headache.
Conclusions:
The duration of ES 2 was modified by a muscle relaxation training in patients with chronic tension-type headache. Therefore, ES 2 is a state marker and is probably influenced by limbic structures. Measurement of ES 2 may not be only a diagnostic tool, but could also be useful in monitoring results of therapy in patients with tension-type headache.
