Effectiveness of eye movement exercise and diaphragmatic breathing with jogging in reducing migraine symptoms: A preliminary, randomized comparison trial

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a multifactorial headache disorder. Maladaptive functional networks or altered circuit‐related connectivity in the brain with migraine appear to perturb the effects of usual treatments. OBJECTIVES: In the present preliminary trial, we aim to study the effectiveness of performing pieces of body–mind, cognitive, or network reconstruction‐based training (i.e., eye movement exercise plus jogging; EME+J and diaphragmatic breathing plus jogging; DB+J) in decreasing migraine symptoms. METHODS: We used a three‐arm, triple‐blind, non‐inferiority randomized comparison design with pre‐test, post‐test, and follow‐up measurements to assess the effectiveness of EME+J and DB+J in the brain with migraine. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the study groups to perform either 12 consecutive weeks of EME+J (n = 22), DB+J (n = 19), or receiving, treatment as usual, TAU (n = 22). RESULTS: The primary outcome statistical analysis through a linear mixed model showed a significant decrease in the frequency (p = .0001), duration (p = .003), and intensity (p = .007) of migraine attacks among the interventions and measurement times. The pairwise comparisons of simple effects showed that EME+J and DB+J effectively reduced migraine symptoms at the post‐test and follow‐up (p < .05). Cochran's tests showed that interventions decreased the number of menses‐related migraine attacks. EME+J and DB+J effectively decreased over‐the‐counter (OTC) drug use, refreshed wake‐up mode, and improved sleep and water drinking patterns. These are the secondary outcomes that Cochran's tests showed in the interventional groups after the interventions and at 12 months of follow‐up. CONCLUSION: EME+J or DB+J can be an effective and safe method with no adverse effects to decrease the symptoms of migraine attacks. Moreover, a reduction in the frequency of menstrual cycle‐related attacks, OTC drug use, and improved quality of sleep and drinking water were the secondary outcomes of the post‐test and a 12‐month follow‐up.