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Disabilities

Smartphone-Based Relaxation Program Reduces Disability for Emergency Department Migraine Patients

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Researchers at NYU Langone Health have developed a smartphone app for muscle relaxation that significantly reduced migraine-related disability in patients visiting the emergency department, a new study shows. The study, published online in JAMA Network Open, found that patients who used the app experienced a nearly two-fold improvement in their ability to manage migraine-related disability compared to those who did not use the app. The study's findings highlight the potential of smartphone-based interventions to empower patients in managing their own migraine and reducing migraine-related disability without medication.

Key Takeaways:

  • The smartphone-based app, called RELAXaHEAD, guided patients with migraine through progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), an evidence-based treatment for migraine that involves tensing and then relaxing one muscle group at a time.
  • The study found that the percentage of patients who had at least a five-point improvement in a standard score of migraine-driven disability nearly doubled for those who used the app versus those who did not.
  • The study involved 69 participants aged 18 to 65 who visited NYU Langone Health's EDs for migraine between 2019 and 2021.
  • Patients who used PMR more frequently experienced better outcomes, suggesting a dose-response relationship.
  • The study did not find significant differences in the number of monthly headache days, but the PMR group's improvement in disability is "really meaningful," said Dr. Minen.
  • Dr. Minen's team is conducting a large-scale clinical study to evaluate the app for people with migraine in primary care settings.

Statistics:

  • The study involved 69 participants aged 18 to 65 who visited NYU Langone Health's EDs for migraine between 2019 and 2021.
  • 45.7% of participants in the control group had at least a five-point improvement in MIDAS score, while 82.4% of participants in the PMR group had at least a five-point improvement.
  • The percentage of patients who had at least a five-point improvement in MIDAS score nearly doubled for those who used the app versus those who did not.
  • The study found that patients who used PMR more frequently experienced better outcomes, with those who used PMR 3-5 times per week experiencing a 94.1% improvement in disability, compared to 50.0% improvement for those who used PMR less than once a week.

Sources:

  • Research study published online in JAMA Network Open, October 16
  • Mia T. Minen, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Departments of Neurology and Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
  • NYU Langone Health news release, October 16
  • National Institutes of Health grants NCCIH K23 AT009706 and NIH NCATS UL1 TR001445
  • Dr. Minen's financial interests in the app and its underlying intellectual property, which has been licensed to CareTurner.

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