Fighting Back Against Painful Migraines

All too often, you’re awakened by a migraine in the early hours of the morning, which means your day is already off to a very bad start. Or perhaps your migraines tend to strike toward the end of the day. Whatever the timing, you’re tired of living under the constant threat of a migraine attack.

You're certainly not alone in this wish — about 39 million Americans live with migraine, many of whom have chronic migraines, which is defined as having at least 15 headache days a month.

If you’d like to reclaim your life from migraines, our team of experienced and skilled pain management specialists here at Pain Medicine Consultants is here to help. To give you an idea about how we can help you fight back against these painful headaches, read on.

Preventing migraines with Botox®

One of the best tools in our migraine treatment arsenal is Botox. You may recognize the name from the cosmetic world, as these injections can make quick work of wrinkles, but Botox is also the No. 1 prescribed branded chronic migraine preventive treatment.

With a few injections every three months, Botox can help reduce your migraine frequency by 8-9 headaches a month, which is a big deal if you’re a chronic migraine sufferer. 

Botox is thought to work by interfering with the transmission of certain neurotransmitters and molecules associated with pain signaling.

Occipital nerve blocks

If your migraine pain tends to start toward the back of your head, we can turn to occipital nerve blocks to relieve the pain. Your occipital nerves come from C2 and C3 nerve roots, and they travel to each side of your head.

Through an occipital nerve block, we inject a pain reliever, as well as an anti-inflammatory agent (typically steroids), to quiet the nerves so that they don’t relay pain signals.

Biofeedback

Another weapon for combating migraines is biofeedback, a technique in which we monitor muscle tension to teach you how to progressively relax your muscles. By learning how to control the tension in your body through muscle relaxation, as well as deep, abdominal breathing, you can reduce your headache frequency and severity by 45-60%.

Trigger management

Another key to preventing migraines is to figure out, and then manage, your triggers. Whether it’s a certain food or stress, we work with you to identify anything that might cause your head pain so you can avoid that trigger.

Spot treatments

While preventing migraine attacks is always the best plan, we can make sure that you have prescription medications on hand that can control the discomfort during an attack. We also offer magnesium IV infusions, which can stop a migraine attack in its tracks.

As you can see, you’re not without options when it comes to fighting migraines. To figure out which combination is best for your chronic head pain, please contact us at one of our offices in Pleasant Hill, Corte Madera, or Pleasanton, California, to set up an appointment.