GSR feedback and Schultz relaxation in tension headaches: a comparative study.

A comparative study of the use of GSR feedback (n = 16) and Schultz relaxation (n = 15) with patients presenting tension headaches showed that there was no significant improvement in the group treated by relaxation at the end of the treatment whereas the group treated by GSR feedback showed significant improvements with respect to frequency and intensity of headaches and to anxiety as measured by subjects' self-evaluation (P less than 0.05). Intergroup comparison demonstrated a greater improvement in headache intensity for the GSR feedback group than for the relaxation group (P less than 0.05) at the post-treatment stage. Likewise, the percentage of patients showing at least 50% improvement as to headache frequency was significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in the GSR feedback than in the relaxation group. High pre-treatment EMG and high pre-treatment weekly pain level indicate a good prognosis of improvement with respect to post-treatment headache frequency and intensity respectively in the case of the GSR feedback group. We found no prognostic factor for post-treatment clinical improvement in the relaxation group.