Effectiveness of integrated yoga therapy in treatment of chronic migraine: randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Question: Does the integrated yoga therapy program help reducing pain measures and depression in chronic migraine patients. Methods: To test the effectiveness of a integrated yoga therapy program for chronic migraine treatment in a low cost, nonclinical setting, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Jaipur, India. Subjects aged 18-65 years with 15 or more headache days per month, at least half of which were migraine/migrainous headaches, were randomized 1:1 to either yoga therapy or standard management. Seventy men andwomen were randomly assigned. The intervention group went through individualized yoga treatment for 12-weeks with four consecutive therapeutic sessions a week. Each therapy session lasting for about 60 min focusing on strengthening, relaxation, releasing muscular tension and increasing self efficacy. The control group consisted of standard care with the patient's physician. Outcome measures included self-perceived pain intensity, frequency, and duration; functional status; depression; prescription and nonprescription medication use. Outcomes were measured at the end of the 12-week intervention and at a 6-month follow-up. Results: Thirty-one of 35 patients from the intervention group and all 35 patients from the control group completed the study. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups before intervention. Intention to treat analysis revealed that the intervention group experienced statistically significant changes in self-perceived pain frequency (P = .000), pain intensity (P = .001), pain duration (P = .000), functional status (P = .000), medication used (P < 0.01) and depression (P = .000); these differences retained their significance at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: Positive health related outcomes in chronic migraine can be obtained with a low cost, group, integrated yoga in a community based nonclinical setting.