The comparison of the effects of both propranolol and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in prevention of migraine headache

Migraine headache is a common familial disorder and its prevalence varies base on sex, age and races. There are two types of treatments for migraine: acute headache treatment (abortive) and preventive treatment. There are a number of drugs such as betablockers are used to prevent migraine attacks. Propranolonl is the most common betablockers used. Also, non-pharmacological treatments such as Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) are used for prevention of migraine. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of propranolol and TENS in prevention of migraine attacks. This clinical trial study was performed on 60 patients diagnosed as having migraine headache based on international headache society (HIS) criteria by a neurologist. They were divided randomly into two groups of 30. One group was treated with TENS for 10 sessions and the next with propranolol (40 mg/day) for 6 months. Frequency, duration and intensity of headache were evaluated 3 and 6 months after the treatments. Data was analyzed by c2 test. Three months after treatment, 90% of TENS patients had no headache while 40% of propranolol patients were headache free. Mean intensity of headache changed from 6.8±1.2 to 0.65±2.06 in TENS group while it changed from 6.7±1.2 to 3.2±3 in propranolol group. The results of this study showed that TENS is an effective treatment for prevention of recurrence headache in migraine patients.