title: The role of regular home practice in the relaxation treatment of tension headache.
abstract: This study evaluated the contribution of regular home practice in the treatment of tension headache (HA) with progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) by giving 14 tension HA sufferers 10 sessions (over 8 weeks) of standard PMR with home practice and application instructions while 13 additional patients received the same PMR training (except for the omission of cue-controlled relaxation) with no home practice or application instruction. A third group of 6 patients merely monitored HA activity. Both treated groups showed significant reduction in HA activity, whereas the symptom monitoring group did not change. The 2 treated groups did not differ. On a measure of clinically significant reduction in HA activity (at least 50% reduction in HA activity), however, the group receiving home practice instruction (50%) showed a trend (p = .056) to improve more than did those receiving PMR without home practice (15%).
authors.affiliation: Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, University at Albany, State University of New York 12202.
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Steffek
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Radnitz
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Appelbaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006261:Headache / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D012064:Relaxation Therapy; D012931:Social Environment