Life can be a pain sometimes, but for a whopping 12% of Americans, it can sometimes feel like pain is life. That’s how many people currently suffer from migraines, according to the Migraine Research Foundation.

That pain isn’t just inconvenient; the same source reports that 90% of sufferers are unable to work or function normally during a migraine — that results in a whole lot of lost productivity, along with increased stress and medical expenses.

Treating the pain of migraines isn’t as simple as taking ibuprofen. Unlike many other kinds of headaches, migraines often come with a slew of varied symptoms, from nausea and obscured (or even lost) vision to light and sound sensitivity, vomiting and pain in the eyes or ears, according to Healthline. If this sounds familiar, or if you already know that you — or someone you love — suffers from frequent migraines, there are options available when it comes to treatment.

While there’s no definitive cure for migraines, treatments have become highly sophisticated and can decrease how much and how often head pain affects your life. That, in turn, could certainly improve your quality of life.

Botox® for migraine

Forget fine lines and wrinkles. Today’s Botox procedures may be miraculous — and not for what they do your face. For anyone suffering from chronic migraines — which, according to the Botox website, means suffering from headaches lasting more than four hours at least 15 days per month — regular injections could be the ticket to fewer days feeling painfully debilitated.

When injected into specific sites around your head and neck, Botox has been clinically proven to prevent headaches and migraines before they start. After creating a treatment plan with your doctor, Botox injections take about 15 minutes and are scheduled every 12 weeks. For many patients, results — like fewer days suffering from headaches — are seen as soon as four weeks.

Occipital nerve blocks

If your headaches are a pain in the neck — meaning they literally seem to stem from the base of your head or your neck — you may be a candidate for occipital nerve block. According to the American Migraine Foundation, the back of the skull houses the occipital nerves, which cause "neuralgiform" pain when inflamed. These nerves also serve as the delivery mechanism for pain signals that produce migraines. By blocking these nerves, those signals are effectively suppressed, preventing migraines from starting.

According to Omega Pain Clinic professionals, who specialize in migraine treatments, patients who suffer from cervicogenic headaches (those that start at the base of the head or neck) and receive occipital nerve blocks often see a decrease in nausea and vomiting, headache frequency and duration, light sensitivity, consumption of analgesic pain medications and more.

During the procedure, your doctor will use a local anesthetic for your comfort, then use a needle to inject anesthetic and corticosteroid beneath the scalp and into the nerve and surrounding area. Patients who receive a series of injections should see relief for several months.

Third occipital nerve block

Imagine living a life of complete relief from the pain, suffering and inconvenience of migraines. That’s the case with many patients who have received a third occipital nerve block procedure. Using radiofrequency ablation, which produces an electrical current to heat nerve tissue and stifle its pain signals, your doctor targets the third occipital nerve — the source of cervicogenic headaches.

According to a 2009 Current Therapy in Pain article, 88% of patients with a diagnosis who underwent their described radiofrequency ablation procedure achieved a successful outcome — complete relief of headaches and return to normal activities.

If you’re living with the pain, inconvenience and difficulty of migraines, you can do something about it. Whether you’ve never been diagnosed or you’re frustrated after years of failed treatments, Omega Pain Clinic can help. Find out more by calling 801-261-4988 or visiting the Omega Pain Clinic website.

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