Chronic Headaches — Treatments With Interventional Pain Management

04 May Chronic Headaches — Treatments With Interventional Pain Management

Interventional pain management is a branch of medicine that involves intercepting the transmission of nerve signals. Rather than directly removing or replacing the damaged components that cause pain, such as one might during a surgery, interventional pain management procedures intercepting the pain at some point between its origin and destination.

By using such techniques, doctors can reduce the pain associated with the different types of headaches such as after being in a vehicle accident. Standard medical treatment for headaches usually involves the use of oral medication. These medications can be effective, however, they do not directly address the root cause of the issue.

This is one reason that interventional pain medicine doctors prefer to use procedures like nerve blocks and steroid injections to manage chronic migraines and headaches. In doing this, they can address the root cause of the headache and treat it on a more long-term basis.

In this article, we will explore some of the different types of interventional pain medicine and how they can help.

Interventional medicine techniques for managing headaches

Interventional medicine can be useful for treating headaches even when they occur alongside other medical conditions.  In fact, interventional pain medicine can even be useful for treating headaches that emerge as a side effect of medication.

Because these processes often target the nerves directly, it doesn’t matter what contributed to the headaches. A blocked pain signal is a blocked pain signal regardless.

There are several different ways that doctors may choose to do this.

Peripheral nerve blocks

Peripheral nerve blocks are one of the most common treatments that doctors use to manage migraines and other chronic headaches. Peripheral nerve blocks were specifically studied to help senior patients who are more likely to have adverse reactions to headache drugs.

One study followed a number of senior patients, most of who were actively taking prescribed medication, over the course of several years. 73% saw improvements in their headaches over the course of the study.

Decompression

Some headaches and migraines may result from compression of the vertebrae in the spinal cord. When these vertebrae become compressed they can pinch the nerves which can cause serious headaches.

Headaches caused by a compressed occipital nerve usually feel like sharp migraines and are frequent. There are several ways that a doctor of pain management in Colorado Springs can fight this problem.

Initially, doctors will probably try to reduce strain and tension on the nerves by splinting the area. This is the simplest and least-bothersome method, so it usually marks the first attempt. If no relief is found, doctors may recommend nerve injections to minimize inflammation and reduce any related compression.

Magnesium and/or steroid injections

Some pain clinics prefer to offer magnesium injections as an introductory form of interventional pain management.

These injections may be mixed with steroids or antiemetic medication. Magnesium injections are especially useful for helping to fight migraines and cluster headaches, and the synergy with nausea-fighting drugs seems to make them much more effective.

Steroids have also been used for the treatment of migraines, but they are less popular for the treatment of general, consistent headaches.

Conclusion

There are lots of different forms of treatment available for chronic headaches that you might experience after a car accident. If you’re interested in interventional pain management Colorado Springs then don’t hesitate to reach out to a doctor.