Use of coping strategies in the management of medication overuse headache

Objectives: Use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in education may improve medication-overuse headache (MOH) patients' ability to cope with pain. In a randomised controlled trial, we evaluated the effect of education focusing on behavioural change among MOH patients. Methods: Ninety-eight MOH patients were randomized (1:1) to standard treatment and 12-weeks of MI based education versus standard treatment alone after detoxification. Outcome of interest was changes in coping strategies measured by the Coping Strategy Questionnaire at four-and nine months. Results: The educational program improved patients' perceived efficacy in the use of their coping strategies to control pain, both at four-and nine months follow-up (mean +/- SE): increment :0.84 +/- 0.35, 95% CI:0.16;1.52, p = 0.02 and: increment : 0.90 +/- 0.39, 95% CI:0.14;1.66, p = 0.02, respectively. No between-group differences were detected in the other coping subscales. Within the intervention group, the coping strategy subscales Catastrophizing, and Reinterpretation of pain sensation were significantly improved at nine months follow-up (p = 0.003 vs. p = 0.012, respectively). No changes were found in the control group. Conclusion: MI-based education focused on behavioural changes improved MOH patients' perceived efficacy in the use of their coping strategies to control pain. Practice implications: Education based on MI could be valuable for MOH patients with respect to behavioural changes and perceived headache control. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.