Chronic Headache Management

If you suffer from headaches or migraines, a comprehensive approach to your care may be able to help you find much needed relief. Neurologists treat a great many patients with a variety of treatments designed to address different types of chronic headache pain.

Medications. Seeking a headache specialist for your care may lead to a better quality of life through prescription medications that help stop or reduce certain migraine symptoms, and/or help prevent headaches from coming back.

Biofeedback. Many headache sufferers respond well to biofeedback, a non-invasive, non-drug therapy that teaches the patient how to recognize muscle tension in the body and actively relax problem areas.

Chemodenervation/BOTOX therapy. BOTOX is injected into specific areas in the neck and head to interfere with painful nerve signals and prevent muscle contraction.

Occipital nerve blocks. A medication is injected near specific problem nerves, interfering with the nerves’ ability to transmit pain signals.

Occipital nerve stimulation. A small amount of electrical current is applied to the nerves transmitting headache pain. The electricity disrupts the painful impulses.

Stress Management. Like many behaviors, achieving relaxation is a skill that is learned. We help our headache patients recognize the signs of stress and teach them concrete strategies to counteract it.

Physical Medicine/Physical Therapy. Physical techniques such as spinal manipulation, neck mobilization, and physical therapy in the form of stretching, muscle strengthening, exercise and posture improvements can all be helpful in reducing headache frequency and symptoms.

Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. Osteopathic medicine uses hands-on techniques to diagnose and treat pain, including headache pain.

Acupuncture. This ancient Chinese form of medicine has been proven effective in the treatment of headache pain.

Medical massage. Specific massage techniques can be helpful in relaxing muscles in the face, neck and head, thereby reducing pain.

“Blood patches.” This corrective procedure for leaking spinal fluid effectively patches up the hole with a small amount of the patient’s own blood, relieving the pain of a “spinal headache.”

Trigger point injections. A local anesthetic is injected into a muscular trigger point that is causing headache pain.

Cervical spine procedures. Medial nerve branch blocks (injections of numbing medication near the medial branch nerve in the neck) and other spinal neck procedures can help alleviate certain types of headache pain.

Experimental therapies. Some patients may benefit from certain types of leading-edge pain management research. Seeking out a neurologist who can provide patients access to emerging treatments / technologies that are not yet available to the general public, may give you an opportunity to benefit from more options for your care.