Migraine sufferers who used a smartphone-based relaxation technique at least twice a week experienced fewer headache days per month, a study has found.
The RELAXaHEAD app, developed by researchers from the New York University in the US, guides patients through progressive muscle relaxation, or PMR.
In this form of behavioral therapy, patients alternately relax and tense different muscle groups to reduce stress.
The research, published in the journal Nature Digital Medicine, is the first to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of an app for treating migraine, and adding an app to standard therapies (such as oral medications) under the supervision of a doctor.
"Our study offers evidence that patients may pursue behavioral therapy if it is easily accessible, they can do it on their own time, and it is affordable," said Mia Minen, from NYU.
"Clinicians need to rethink their treatment approach to migraine because many of the accepted therapies, although proven to be the current, best course of treatment, aren't working for all lifestyles,"