A Preliminary Investigation of the Efficacy of Aromatherapy in Reducing Discomfort in Youth With Chronic Headache

Overview

The purpose of this study is to preliminarily establish the extent to which a brief aromatherapy intervention incrementally improves subjective and objective indicators of discomfort (pain, anxiety, and heart rate variability) beyond passive relaxation in youth with chronic headaches. A secondary objective is to establish the safety of using aromatherapy as a treatment strategy in youth with chronic headache. The investigators hypothesize that children randomized to the aromatherapy condition will demonstrate a greater improvement in pain, anxiety, and objectively measured distress (heart rate variability) than comparable children receiving only a passive relaxation treatment (a foot bath). The investigators further hypothesize that the aromatherapy intervention will be safe and well-tolerated by study participants.

Complementary and alternative therapies play an increasing role in the multidisciplinary treatment of primary pediatric headache disorders. Every pediatric headache patient needs to have a personalized and tailored program of education, psychological strategies, pharmacotherapy and complementary medicine choices. This particular study may prove desirable for parents of children and adolescents with chronic headache. As documented by Termine, C., Ferrari, Ginevra, O., D'Arrigo, S., Rossi, M., \& Lanzi, G. (2005), parents are often uncertain and fearful of submitting their children to treatment with traditional drugs, adolescents can use alternative therapies as a way of affirming their independence, and there are fewer drugs available to treat headache in children. Moreover, there is a 30-40% placebo response in headache sufferers (Mauskop, 2001). Children and adolescents should not be prevented from using alternative treatments, specifically essential oils, provided that the intervention is not harmful or costly. It is hoped this study will contribute to the scant research that exists and help define the indications, effects and limitations of aromatherapy use.