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Cognitive and relaxation treatment of paediatric migraine
Iris L Richter1, Patrick J McGrath, Peter J Humphreys
1School of Psychology, Lamoureux Hall, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont. KIN 6N5, Canada Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ont. KIH 8L1, Canada Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ont. KIH 8LI, Canada Child Study Centre, 10 MacDougall Lane, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont. KIN 6N5 Canada.
Abstract:
The present study compared the efficacy of two active treatments, relaxation training and cognitive coping, with a non-specific placebo control in the treatment of 42 children and adolescents with migraine. The first treatment is a simplified version of progressive deep muscle relaxation; the second, a form of cognitive restructuring involving the alteration of dysfunctional thought processes. The results demonstrated that each active treatment was superior to the non-specific intervention in reducing overall headache activity and frequency but not duration or intensity. There were no differences between the experimental groups, and both continued to improve through a 16-week follow-up period, but the control group did not. Initial level of headache severity was an important factor in treatment outcome, with children with severe headaches responding better than those with milder headaches. Possible reasons for the differential treatment effects are discussed, and the implications for future research are considered.