Enhanced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is Effective in Episodic Migraine
These investigators evaluated the impact of enhanced mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR+) compared to a stress management program for headache without mindfulness (SMH) in a randomized clinical trial of 98 adults with episodic migraine. MBSR+ and SMH were delivered weekly by group for 8 weeks, then biweekly for another 8 weeks. They found that the reduction in headache days from baseline to 20 weeks was significantly greater for MBSR+, decreasing from 7.8 to 4.6 versus a reduction from 7.7 to 6.0 days for SMH. Fifty-two percent of the MBSR+ group showed at least a 50% reduction in headache days compared with 23% in the SMH group. Reduction in headache-related disability assessed by the Headache Impact Test was also greater for MBSR+. The researchers concluded that enhanced mindfulness-based stress reduction is an effective therapeutic option for episodic migraine, and that the response rates are similar to or exceed most commonly used medication treatments.
Seminowicz DA, et al. Pain, 2020;161:1837-1846.
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