This smartphone app helps reduce migraine: Study

IANS  |  New York 

Researchers have developed a smartphone-based technique which reduces in people who are suffering from

The study, published in the journal Nature Digital Medicine, evaluated the clinical effectiveness of an app for treating 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 if it is easily accessible, they can do it on their own time and it is affordable," said Mia Minen, at the

"Clinicians need to rethink their treatment approach to because many of the accepted therapies, although proven to be the current, best course of treatment, aren't working for all lifestyles," Minen said.

To see if an app might increase compliance, the research team analysed app use by 51 migraine patients, all of whom owned

For the study, participants were asked to use the app for 90 days and to keep a daily record of the frequency and severity of their headaches, while the app kept track of how long and often patients used PMR.

During the research, on average, participants had 13 days per month. Thirty-nine per cent of the patients also reported having anxiety and 30 per cent had

PMR therapy utilising the RELAXaHEAD app dropped to 51 per cent after six weeks, and to 29 per cent after three months, said the researchers.

"The study results suggest that technologies can effectively teach patients lifelong skills needed to manage their migraines," Minen said.

--IANS

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First Published: Tue, June 04 2019. 14:10 IST