case study
Jenn Rutledge
“ I didn ’ t realize it , but when I was having migraines , I always felt cold in my fingertips , my nose and my toes .”
Breaking the cycle with biofeedback
BY THE TIME JENN RUTLEDGE TURNED UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT at the Headache Care Center in Springfield , Mo ., she was desperate .
The 31-year-old mother of three from Summersville , Mo ., had suffered from migraines for more than a decade . With her husband stationed overseas in the military , the stress of day-to-day life was taking its toll , and her migraines had gone from bad to worse . Doctor after doctor provided what she calls a “ Band- Aid ” approach : They ’ d listen to her story , hand over some pain medication and tell her she ’ d feel better soon . She didn ’ t . Until her appointment at the specialty clinic , Rutledge had never heard of biofeedback . After getting a general explanation — that they would monitor some of her vital signs and teach her how to change her body ’ s reactions to stress — she was a bit skeptical . But she was still willing to take the risk .
At the initial session , which took a couple of hours , the biofeedback practitioner hooked a thermometer to one of Rutledge ’ s fingers and explained that she wanted to monitor the temperature . Cold fingers are associated with migraines .
With the thermometer on , Rutledge was asked to envision different scenarios in her mind . One in particular , in which she thought about cool liquid , prompted a negative reaction . The more she thought about water , the more anxious she felt . When she finished the session , her finger temperature had dropped by a few degrees — the exact opposite of what the session was trying to accomplish .
Rutledge went to her hotel room frustrated . She wondered about what went wrong until it suddenly dawned on her : She had a near-drowning experience as a child , and thinking of water was a major stressor . She considered the way her body reacted to the scenario and realized she felt the same way when a migraine was coming on .
“ I didn ’ t realize it , but when I was having migraines , I always felt cold in my fingertips , my nose and my toes ,” Rutledge says .
After a few more sessions of focused breathing with guided visualization , Rutledge found she could use the technique on her own . She learned to pinpoint her migraine symptoms — cold fingers and shallow breathing — and she would take a few minutes to go to a quiet place in her home , imagine a peaceful setting , and slow down or stop those reactions .
It hasn ’ t been a cure , but Rutledge says she can manage her migraines more effectively by identifying the warning signs early . She is even using biofeedback to help manage other stressful situations .
“ Part of it was just breaking the cycle of the headache ,” she says . “ The way I treat them now is different .”
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