There is some evidence that biofeedback can help with migraines, but little research on its value in cluster headache. A 1984 case study found that thermal biofeedback resulted in near complete reduction in pain medication in one chronic patient. (PMID 6509110 (cache)) Another study in a chronic CH sufferer found that 14 sessions of temporal blood volume pulse (BVP) biofeedback resulted in a 70% reduction in headaches. (PMID 6675728 (cache))

One of the problems with 'biofeedback' is that it is not one thing - it is a collection of techniques, each which gives the conscious mind awareness of some internal process. Using a stethoscope to listen to and calm the heart beat is a form of biofeedback. Will it magically help all conditions? Obviously not.

Thermal biofeedback devices are relatively inexpensive and seem to help migraneurs. Much research on 'biofeedback' to date has involved a device that measures galvanic skin response in the fingers. Galvanic skin response is an indication of relaxation or autonomic nerve function. But it is not clear that relaxing the skin on one hand will automatically translate into control over whatever processes in the hypothalamus or trigeminal nerve are responsible for cluster headaches.

In the future, I envision some type of EEG brainwave based biofeedback that will help people train particular parts of the brain. This type of biofeedback is far more likely to help with headaches.

Lately, I have been working with a different type of biofeedback device, the Stress Eraser. This measures variations in the rate and acceleration/deceleration of the pulse, and it calculates a statistic known as heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is abnormally low in most clusterheads - the sympathetic nervous system is dominant, and it reduces the relaxation and dynamic range of the heart beat. Whether or not such devices help in any way with neurovascular headaches is unknown. It may share some similarities with the temporal blood volume pulse method mentioned above, or maybe not. I got it to better deal with stress.

See also: Dr. Wright's Circulatory Technique.
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