Headaches in children - education brings it all

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MunichHeadaches are also plaguing children and adolescents more and more frequently. But medication is usually not necessary for treatment - it is often enough for the young patients to observe a few basic rules.

Almost 1,700 students between the ages of 12 and 15 from grammar schools in Munich took part in a study by the German Migraine and Headache Society (DMKG). The individual classes were each divided into two halves. One group of students received 45 minutes of education about headaches, the other did not.

Practical tips

The students were informed about possible risk factors for headaches, such as drinking too little, alcohol or lack of exercise. They received practical tips on how to avoid stress and overcome existing headaches. For example, you can plan the learning effort before the exam so that you do not have to study a large amount of material shortly before an exam. If the headache is already there, the students can solve them with exercises against neck tension, for example. Something like this: Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. Now the arms swing in front of the body to the right and left like a pendulum. Shoulders and upper body remain relaxed, but not moved with them.

Over a period of seven months, the researchers noted how often the informed students had headaches and compared the numbers with those of students without a headache class.

Headache is 77 percent less common

The result: the clarification brings it all. Adolescents who know what causes headaches suffer 77 percent less often than classmates who have not been informed. In fact, with at least one student in each class, the headache went away completely. "The information will probably make you more aware of the problem and thus better self-control," says Prof. Andreas Straube, President of the DMKG and co-author of the study, to In particular, students with tension headaches felt an improvement. Obviously, these can be influenced particularly easily, according to Straube.

Because of the success, the scientists propose to establish headache lessons as an integral part of school education. The information hour for the control group was made up for after the study was completed. (away)

Source: A. Straube et al .: Headache cessation by an educational intervention in grammar schools: a cluster randomized trial. European Journal of Neurology 2014.

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