The effect of self-regulatory treatment on pain behavior in chronic headache

Thirty-one migraine, 27 mixed and 28 tension headache patients completed a global, retrospective inventory of headache behavior (avoidance, verbal and non-verbal complaint, and medication consumption) and monitored headache activity and concomitant pain-related behavior for 4 weeks before and after participating in self-regulatory treatment. Using the weekly behavior diaries as a reliability check for the global inventory, we found significant, but low, correlations between the two measures. Significant reductions occurred in all four types of behavior, pre- to post-treatment. Avoidance and verbal complaint behavior interacted with treatment outcome and headache diagnosis. The results are discussed in the context of prevailing ideas concerning the relationship between headache activity and pain-related behavior.