Headache is one of the most common symptoms of individuals seeking medical care, accounting for almost 10 million outpatient visits per year in the United States. Migraine headaches represent the most severe type and affect approximately 12 to 15% of the US population. The average annual cost of health care for a migraine sufferer is estimated at over $800 per patient. In addition, absenteeism and impaired performance at work reduce a person’s income and chances for advancement. For unknown reasons, the occurrence of disabling headaches has increased over 60% through the last 10 years. Medications can sometimes manage the symptoms, but rarely cure this disorder.
This is a case study of a 23-year-old single woman who suffered severe migraine headaches for four years. The frequency of her migraines ranged from 1-3 per week and lasted up to 72 hours. Each time she became nauseated and vomited repeatedly. She became sensitive to noise and had aversion to certain odors. The pain worsened with any physical activity, which led her to lie in bed for hours to minimize the pain. She was missing 2-3 days of school each month due to these disabling headaches. The physician was unable to discern the causation of her migraine and prescribed her analgesics.
She received a total of 21 EEG Neurofeedback trainings. Treatment involved 10 sessions for 15 minutes each of T3/C3 and T4/C4 and 11 sessions of 15 minutes each of F4/ T4 and F3/T3. A week after her second session she had a severe migraine with vomiting that lasted 24 hours. A few days after her fifth session, she had a migraine with vomiting that lasted only 12 hours. Two days after her sixth session she felt a migraine coming on but was able to suppress it. This was the first time she had ever been able to stop a headache. A few days after her twelfth session she had a migraine that lasted only two hours, and threw up only one time. This was the shortest headache she had ever had and her last one. She has been headache free now for eight months. EEG Neurofeedback in this case was 100% successful in alleviating her migraine headaches. She was able to discontinue all analgesic medications and no longer missed any days of work or school due to this pain. Tansey (1991) reported similar success in treating migraine suffers using EEG biofeedback training. |
