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Specific and Non‐specific Effects of Skin Temperature Control in Migraine Management
Author(s) -
Largen John W.,
Mathew Roy J.,
Dobbins Ken,
Claghorn James L.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4610.1981.hed2102036.x
Subject(s) - migraine , skin temperature , biofeedback , medicine , physical therapy , anesthesia , dermatology
SYNOPSIS Skin temperature self‐regulation has been demonstrated to be an efficacious behavioral technique in the management of migraine headache. However, a controversy has arisen over the particular significance of the skin temperature factor per se. The present pilot study represents an attempt to evaluate the relative contributions of specific and non‐specific effects of thermal biofeedback in migraine therapy. Thirteen female migraine patients were randomly assigned to either a “hand‐warming”or a “hand‐cooling” treatment condition. The pretreatment baseline was compared to the post‐training follow‐up period along seven indices of headache activity. Results indicated that primarily non‐specific factors and to a lesser extent, specific temperature factors contribute to the therapeutic gains observed in migraine therapy.