Effect of Eye Movement Exercise Versus Diaphragmatic Breathing on Migraine Symptoms among Nursing Students

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a common and often debilitating neurological condition characterised by recurrent primary headaches lasting 4 to 72 hours. During university life, students often report increased stress, depression, anxiety and irregular sleep, all of which are associated with migraine. The high prevalence of migraine impairs students’ academic performance and reduces their quality of life. Methods: Forty nursing students meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to Group I (n = 20) and Group II (n = 20). For Group I, the researcher demonstrated eye movement exercises and instructed the students to perform them for 5 minutes twice daily, 30 minutes before breakfast and 30 minutes before bedtime, for 21 days. For Group II, the researcher demonstrated diaphragmatic breathing involving deep nasal inhalation, a 2-second pause and prolonged deep oral inhalation, performed three times daily at 7 am, 2 pm and 9 pm for 21 days. Post-tests assessed migraine frequency, duration and intensity in both groups on days 7, 14 and 21 using the HIT-6 scale and a checklist. Results: Repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant reductions in disability scores, migraine frequency and migraine duration among female nursing students (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This non-pharmacological approach may be an option for migraine prophylaxis among patients who do not benefit from, or prefer not to take, daily medication.