Comparison of the Effects of Induced Muscle Tension Variations on Task Performance in Headache-prone and Non-headache Subjects

Abstract

Tension (muscle contraction) headache is often associated with high task demands, and relaxation is frequently recommended during daily work activities in many treatment programs. The effect of relaxation on concurrent task performance is assumed to be beneficial, or at worst to have no effect, but this assumption is seldom made explicit. This paper presents results from two experiments which have examined the effects of muscle tension and relaxation on concurrent task performance, in headache-prone and non-headache groups. Results indicated that induced frontalis relaxation did not generally result in optimal task performance; the performance measure affected (accuracy or reaction time) was related to the type of task being performed. Differences between the headache and non-headache subjects were especially related to interactions between task difficulty level and “optimal” level of frontalis tension. Further research is needed to clarify the aspects of performance most affected by variations in frontalis tension and the appropriateness of attempting to relax the frontalis muscle in task situations.