Migraine Relief Through Combination of Two Interventions

US Pharm. 2010;35(11):8. 

Athens, OH—The combination of two types of interventions--preventive medication and behavioral changes--brought significant relief to more than two-thirds of participants in a study that focused on combating frequent, disabling migraines. Individually, these therapies have been successful at improving headache pain, but this controlled study, conducted at Ohio University, is the first to examine whether the combination can relieve debilitating migraines. Subjects--who had been experiencing at least three debilitating migraines per month despite taking acute migraine medication--received preventive medication only, behavioral migraine management training, both interventions, or neither intervention, and were monitored daily for 16 months. The combined-intervention group had the greatest improvement in number of migraines, days with migraine, and quality of life; the other groups had only modest improvements. In some people, frequent migraines progress to chronic migraines (daily or near-daily occurrence). Under consideration for future study is whether the behavioral migraine management program can reduce the number of patients who progress to chronic migraines.