ArticleIranian Red Crescent medical journal2014
Comparison of neurofeedback and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation efficacy on treatment of primary headaches: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Article in Iranian Red Crescent medical journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04195685 (Neurofeedback Impact on Chronic Headache, Sleep and Attention Disorders Experienced by Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neurofeedback Impact on Chronic Headache, Sleep and Attention Disorders Experienced by Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characterising the Features of 381 Clinical Studies Evaluating Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Pain Relief: A Secondary Analysis of the Meta-TENS Study to Improve Future Research.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Neurofeedback for Pain Management: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- The Impact of Alpha-Neurofeedback Training on Gastric Slow Wave Activity and Heart Rate Variability in Humans.Neurogastroenterology and motility · 2025Trial
- Closed-Loop Infraslow Brain-Computer Interface can Modulate Cortical Activity and Connectivity in Individuals With Chronic Painful Knee Osteoarthritis: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.Clinical EEG and neuroscience · 2025Trial
- Decoding pain's neural rhythm: Gamma oscillation mechanisms, therapeutic modulation, and translational challenges in pain management.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- A Scoping Review of the Effect of EEG Neurofeedback on Pain Complaints in Adults with Chronic Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Neurofeedback Therapy for Sensory Over-Responsiveness-A Feasibility Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Remediating Intractable Headache: An Effective Nonpharmacological Approach Employing Infralow Frequency Neuromodulation.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
- Infra-Low Frequency Neurofeedback in Tension-Type Headache: A Cross-Over Sham-Controlled Study.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
- [Relaxation techniques and behavioural therapy for the treatment of migraine : Guidelines from the German Migraine and Headache Society].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2017Article
- ATP-sensitive muscle afferents activate spinal trigeminal neurons with meningeal afferent input in rat - pathophysiological implications for tension-type headache.The journal of headache and pain · 2016Article
- Comparing the Effectiveness of Neurofeedback and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Sleep Quality of Patients With Migraine.Basic and clinical neuroscienceArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHeadache is one of the most prevalent investigated complaints in the neurology clinics and is the most common pain-related complaint worldwide. Stress is a significant factor that causes and triggers headaches. Since healthcare practitioners experience a lot of stress in their careers, they are more prone to headaches.
objectivesThis study was designed to evaluate and compares the efficacy of neurofeedback behavioural therapy (NFB) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in the treatment of primary headaches in healthcare providers. PATIENTS AND
methodsThe current study was a clinical trial, performed in Teheran, IR Iran, with two experimental groups and a control group. Convenient sampling method was used to recruit patients. Independent variables were NFB and TENS and dependent variables were frequency, severity, and duration of headache. Blanchard headache diary was used for assessment. Hence, 45 healthcare providers with primary headache were selected and randomly allocated to one of the NFB, TENS, and control groups by block random assignment method. All three groups completed the headache diary during one week before and after the treatment period as pretest and posttests, respectively. The NFB group was treated in the period between pretest and posttest with fifteen 30-minute treatment sessions three times a week and the TENS group was treated with fifteen 20-minute daily sessions. The control group received none of these treatments.
resultsThe results from the analysis of covariance showed that treatment with NFB and TENS had caused significant decrease in the frequency, severity, and duration of headache in experimental groups. The results of the LSD post-hoc test indicated that there were significant differences in the frequency, severity, and duration of pain among experimental groups and the control group. Moreover, there were significant differences between pain frequencies in experimental groups.
conclusionsAccording to the results and given the significant reductions in the frequency, severity, and duration of headaches, it seems that NFB and TENS might have an effective role in reducing primary headaches of healthcare providers. In addition, comparing the two methods, treatment with NFB was more effective in reducing headache frequency and severity.
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