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Current Pain and Headache Reports
Published in: Current Pain and Headache Reports 4/2018

01-04-2018 | Other Pain (A Kaye and N Vadivelu, Section Editors)

Novel Interventional Nonopioid Therapies in Headache Management

Authors: Omar Viswanath, Roxanna Rasekhi, Rekhaben Suthar, Mark R. Jones, Jacquelin Peck, Alan D. Kaye

Published in: Current Pain and Headache Reports | Issue 4/2018

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Headaches encompass a broad-based category of a symptom of pain in the region of the head or neck. For those patients who unfortunately do not obtain relief from conservative treatment, interventional techniques have been developed and are continuing to be refined in an attempt to treat this subset of patients with the goal of return of daily activities. This investigation reviews various categories of headaches, their pathophysiology, and types of interventional treatments currently available.

Recent Findings

Injection of botulinum toxin has been shown to increase the number of headache free days for patients suffering from chronic tension-type headaches. Suboccipital steroid injection has been demonstrated as a successful treatment option for patients suffering from cluster headache. Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) has been described as a treatment for all types of trigeminal autonomic cephalgias. Percutaneous ONS is a minimally invasive and reversible approach to manage occipital neuralgia performed utilizing subcutaneous electrodes placed superficial to the cervical muscular fascia in the suboccipital area. Radiofrequency lesioning is another commonly used treatment in the management of chronic pain syndromes of the head and neck. If a diagnostic sphenopalatine ganglion block successfully resolves the patient’s symptoms, neurolysis can be employed as a more permanent solution.

Summary

Although many patients who suffer from headaches can be treated with conservative, less-invasive treatments, there still remains at present an ever-increasing need for those patients who are refractory to conservative measures and thus require interventional treatments. These procedures are continually evolving to become safer, more precise, and more readily available for clinicians to provide to their patients.
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Metadata
Title
Novel Interventional Nonopioid Therapies in Headache Management
Authors
Omar Viswanath
Roxanna Rasekhi
Rekhaben Suthar
Mark R. Jones
Jacquelin Peck
Alan D. Kaye
Publication date
01-04-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Pain and Headache Reports / Issue 4/2018
Print ISSN: 1531-3433
Electronic ISSN: 1534-3081
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-018-0681-9

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