A recent study led by NYU Langone Health has found that a smartphone app designed for muscle relaxation can help reduce disability in patients who visit the emergency department for migraines. The app, called RELAXaHEAD, guides users through progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), a method where patients tense and relax different muscle groups.
The research was published online in JAMA Network Open on October 16. It showed that patients using the RELAXaHEAD app were almost twice as likely to experience at least a five-point improvement in their Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS) compared to those who did not use the app. The MIDAS questionnaire measures how migraines impact daily activities over three months.
“Our findings highlight the potential of smartphone-based interventions to empower patients in managing their own migraine, and in reducing migraine-related disability without medication,” said lead study author Mia T. Minen, MD, MPH, associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Migraines are recurring headaches that can cause severe pain and other symptoms like nausea and sensitivity to light or sound. They affect more than 14 percent of people worldwide and are a common reason for emergency department visits. According to the study authors, nearly half of all patients discharged from the emergency department with a migraine return within three months.
“The RELAXaHEAD app is meant to reduce migraine disability and hopefully reduce the rate at which patients return to the emergency department for migraine,” Dr. Minen said.
The clinical trial included 69 adults aged 18 to 65 who visited NYU Langone Health’s emergency departments for migraines between 2019 and 2021. Participants were randomly assigned either to use the RELAXaHEAD app with PMR or only keep a headache diary as part of a control group.
Results showed that 82.4 percent of participants using PMR saw at least a five-point improvement in their MIDAS score, compared with 45.7 percent among those not using PMR. The study also found that more frequent use of PMR led to better outcomes.
“While the study did not find significant differences in the number of monthly headache days, the PMR group’s improvement in disability is really meaningful,” Dr. Minen noted. She added that her team is now conducting a larger study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate this approach among people seeking care for migraines outside emergency settings.
Other contributors included researchers from Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, City University of New York, MIST Research and Statistical Consulting, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Funding came from NIH grants NCCIH K23 AT009706 and NIH NCATS UL1 TR001445.
Dr. Minen disclosed financial interests related to RELAXaHEAD and its underlying intellectual property licensed to CareTurner; these interests are managed according to NYU Langone Health policies.
NYU Langone Health operates an integrated health system with seven inpatient locations and over 320 outpatient sites across New York and Florida. The institution has received national recognition for quality outcomes—being ranked No. 1 among comprehensive academic medical centers by Vizient Inc., as well as top rankings from U.S News & World Report for neurology and other specialties—and reported $15.5 billion in revenue this year.
