Cross-correlation between stress, pain, physical activity, and temporalis muscle EMG in tension-type headache |
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| Authors: | GT Clark S Sakai R Merrill VF Flack C McCreary |
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| Institution: | UCLA School of Dentistry, Section of Diagnostic Sciences and Orofacial Pain, Los Angeles, CA, USA;;UCLA School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Los Angeles, CA, USA;;UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | Thirty-six tension-type headache subjects and 36 non-headache matched controls recorded their temporalis muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity and their pain intensity, stress and physical activity levels in a daily diary. Measurements were performed every 30 min for 6 days (EMG 3 days only). A time-lagged cross-correlational analysis between pain, stress, physical activity, and EMG shows that the highest correlation coefficient values occurred between pain and stress at the same ( r =0.33) and at the two preceding 0.5 h time points ( r =0.21 and r =0.26) in the headache group. Virtually no correlation was found between pain, stress, or physical activity with EMG for either group. These data show that temporalis muscle activity levels were not related to the rise and fall of the subjects' pain or stress levels. Conversely, elevated stress appeared to be highly related to pain; it occurs as both an antecedent and simultaneous event with elevated headache pain. |
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| Keywords: | Ambulatory and sleeping EMG temporalis-region pain tension-type headache |
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