The Comparison of Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Stress Management Training for Patients with Chronic Tension Headache

A growing body of theoretical and empirical literature on stress has established a good basis for conceptualizing headache as a psychophysiological disorder and led to the application of different contemporary therapies for headache. The present clinical trial intervention aimed to compare the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation and stress management training techniques in relieving headache among patients with chronic tension headache. The statistical population comprised patients with chronic tension headache referring to neurology and psychiatry clinics in Kashan, Iran. The sample included 55 women with chronic tension headache who were randomly selected and assigned to three groups including a drug therapy group receiving progressive muscle relaxation, another drug therapy group receiving stress management training, and one control group receiving only drug therapy. The participants recorded their headache diaries one week before and after the intervention. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was run in SPSS to analyze the data. The ANCOVA results with controlling the pre-test effect showed that there is a statistically significant difference between drug therapy groups receiving progressive muscle relaxation and stress management training, in one hand, and the only drug therapy group in terms of the frequency, intensity, and duration of the patients’ headache. In addition, the stress management training technique was found to be more effective than the progressive muscle relaxation technique. Hence, it is highly suggested that these psychological therapies be added to drug therapy programs for patients with chronic tension headache disorder.