Relaxation techniques seem to help children with migraine headaches, claims a new study.
Researchers taught children deep breathing and muscle relaxation techniques and had them imagine fun or peaceful settings. The children had fewer and less severe headaches, he says. Finding a new way to help children with crippling headaches is particularly important, Powers says, because so often these kids don't get much attention. Dr. David Rothner, director of the Pediatric Headache Center at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and author of Headaches in Children and Adolescents , agrees that biofeedback techniques can be useful in treating migraines in children as well as adults, but he says the study doesn't prove its effectiveness. In addition to the relaxation therapy, the children were treated with other techniques and medications when needed, the researchers say.