Clinical follow-up: treatment and outcome of functional headache patients treated with biofeedback

Sixteen diagnosed functional headache patients treated with biofeedback techniques of frontalis EMG feedback and/or peripheral temperature feedback, with an average headache history of 18.2 years, were evaluated at an average interval of 37 weeks posttreatment. On the average, patients showed further improvement in their headache status as measured by average daily headache pain scores in contrast with termination values. Data were obtained via structured interviews conducted by an individual not involved in patient's treatment. Patients on the average showed declines in frontalis EMG during the follow-up sessions, but not increases in temperature as had been expected. The unclear role played by increasing peripheral temperature in follow-up of migraine patients is discussed.