Relaxation techniques appear to help teenagers fight off frequent migraines or tension headaches, according to a new study.

After students learned relaxation techniques from either a school nurse or graduate psychology student acting as a therapist, they reported fewer headaches, and less intense headaches, up to 10 months later.

Students with migraines only responded when they were taught by therapists, but students with tension headaches responded to relaxation teachings by both graduate students and school nurses.

In the journal Headache, Bo Larsson and colleagues from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway write that frequent, recurring headaches are “one of the most common health problems among adolescents.”

Studies show that teenagers with frequent headaches take more analgesic medicine, and are more likely to have physical, social and psychological problems that arise in day-to-day activities.

Recent studies have suggested that relaxation therapy may help teens reduce their headaches. To investigate further, Larsson and colleagues reviewed information collected from 7 studies, which followed 288 students between the ages of 10 and 18 for between 6 and 10 months.

During the studies, students were either trained in general relaxation techniques or techniques to deal specifically with headaches, or asked to talk about day-to-day problems, without receiving any instructions about headaches.

Students who underwent relaxation training reported fewer headaches and less severe headache pain. In addition, students with tension headaches who were trained by therapists reported taking fewer medications.

The authors conclude that relaxation training from therapists was “clearly the most effective” in helping teens avoid headaches - but asking a school nurse to administer the relaxation training was most “cost-effective,” they add.

“Relaxation training procedures administered within school settings may provide effective and efficient help to adolescents suffering from long-standing and frequent headaches,” the authors write.

SOURCE: Headache, June 2005.