Symptoms

Bilateral, in the front or the back of the head, sometimes rising from the neck, dull-pressing character ("vice", "strap around the head"); often dull, permanent headache, of hardly varying intensity after some years and possibly accompanied by sickness, nausea, and impaired vision (similar to migraine).

Cause

Tensions in the head, neck and shoulder musculature which are caused and/or maintained by stress are considered to be a direct trigger. Possible organic reasons have to be excluded by your doctor prior to the commencement of the biofeedback therapy.

Vicious circle stress–tension–pain

Prolonged tensions (due to stress or adverse body posture) automatically cause pain. This can easily be verified by forming a tight fist. The loss of skin colour indicates that the blood circulation is reduced and that the supply of nutrients and oxygen is insufficient. Here, the pain acts as a warning signal. Chronic pain does not have that meaning anymore. Stress often causes tension of certain muscle groups (e. g. neck, back), but sometimes the pain does not occur until hours later. Therefore, the coherence of stress and pain is not always obvious. And since the pain itself causes a lot of stress, a vicious circle of stress, tension, and pain can develop that maintains the pain. Breaking this vicious circle is the aim of the biofeedback therapy.

Biofeedback therapy

Aim of the biofeedback therapy for tension headache is the reduction of muscle tension in neck and forehead. Since the muscle tension is only vaguely perceived, the feedback significantly improves the relaxation. The biofeedback therapy is here only temporarily important and emphasises your active cooperation.

Principle of biofeedback treatment

You are sitting in a comfortable relaxing chair and see the change of your muscle tension in form of a line on the screen. The muscle tension is measured with electrodes on neck or forehead. The feedback helps to perceive and deliberately reduce the tension. If it increases, the curve is rising and if it decreases, the curve is sinking. In a playful way, you learn to completely relax the muscle group responsible for the pain. This enables you to effectively reduce or prevent headache in every day life.