How well does it work? According to Dr. Barry Schwartz, director of the Headache Center in New Orleans, about 85 percent to 90 percent of patients with chronic headaches respond positively to biofeedback.
"Biofeedback also serves as an excellent bridge in assisting patients wean off medications," he said.
Of course, I do have a few thoughts about his presentation of neurofeedback...
My first observation is that he presented only one type of neurofeedback -- EEG-based neurofeedback. And he presented the estimate of 20-40 sessions to achieve benefits. Perhaps it was clear to everyone else, but this made me think he was saying one needed to have 20-40 sessions to feel the difference, which is not typically the case. Some people who start a session with a headache may find themselves headache-free at the end of the session.
Using HEG, another neurofeedback technique, clients typically find a significant improvement by 6 sessions. It is true that further gains can be made after those initial 6 sessions and I do recommend that people gradually reduce the frequency of their sessions as their gains start leveling out, resulting in something closer to 20 sessions for many people. But I find that most people are glad to have an estimate of how many sessions are required to really establish whether it's worthwhile for them to keep going.
Secondly, he quoted a non-neurofeedback provider saying that neurofeedback didn't add much to non-brain-based biofeedback (called peripheral biofeedback). As far as I know, there are no head-to-head research studies comparing neurofeedback and peripheral biofeedback. Many neurofeedback providers find that peripheral biofeedback doesn't add much ;-), so I suspect differences are probably due to a mix of influences like headache patterns (e.g., how much they are a combination of tension and migraine), practitioner training and preferences, client preference, etc.
I do have to agree with the closing conclusion, however:
To make a decision about how to treat migraines, [Dr. Barry Schwartz, director of the Headache Center in New Orleans] believes that patients should be told about alternative treatments for headaches — treatments other than medications.
"People should be afforded the opportunity to make an informed decision."
I have tried to educate physicians in Toronto about the availability of HEG training as an alternative approach to migraines, without success. My clients find my Brain and Health website by doing their own search for alternatives and calling me directly. How can a physician be getting the required informed consent for prescribing a medication without offering alternatives? I know, as a medical consumer myself, that they don't. But that's another article, maybe for another blog.... (Sorry for getting a bit cranky there...)
To read related articles about neurofeedback and migraine on my blog, try:
Do You Need to Tolerate Migraines?
Use Medication Alternatives for Headache
Neurofeedback and Migraines: An ABC Report
To read related articles about neurofeedback and migraine on my blog, try:
Do You Need to Tolerate Migraines?
Use Medication Alternatives for Headache
Neurofeedback and Migraines: An ABC Report
