Muscle discrimination ability at three muscle sites in three headache groups

• Published in: Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 1984-12, Vol.9 (4), p.421-430
• Main Authors: APPELBAUM, K. A, BLANCHARD, E. B, ANDRASIK, F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Back; Biofeedback, Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Discrimination (Psychology); Female; Forearm; Forehead; Headache - psychology; Headache - therapy; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Humans; Kinesthesis; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Migraine Disorders - psychology; Migraine Disorders - therapy; Muscle Contraction; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Relaxation Therapy
• ISSN: 0363-3586; 1573-3270
• DOI: 10.1007/BF01000559

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.