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Muscle discrimination ability at three muscle sites in three headache groups

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Abstract

The present study examined the ability of three headache groups (migraine, mixed migraine/tension, and tension) to accurately discriminate subjective levels of muscle tension at the forearm flexor, frontalis, and trapezius muscle sites. Discrimination ability was assessed at pre- and posttreatment using a psychophysical method of magnitude production. Results show that the ability to discriminate muscle tension levels at pretreatment varied across the headache groups, with migraineurs being the most accurate (r=.854), followed by the mixed headache group (r=.785), and finally the tension headache group (r=.732). Discrimination ability significantly increased at the posttreatment assessment. A multiple regression analysis showed that pretreatment performance on the muscle discrimination task significantly predicted outcome (r=.75) from relaxation and biofeedback training for migraine patients but not for the mixed or tension headache groups.

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This research was supported by a grant from NINCDS, NS-15235.

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Appelbaum, K.A., Blanchard, E.B. & Andrasik, F. Muscle discrimination ability at three muscle sites in three headache groups. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 9, 421–430 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01000559

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