Headaches

Most everyday headaches are caused by familiar triggers such as tension, such as tension headaches (when stress makes you tense the muscles in your head and neck), mild dehydration, or as a symptom of an infection like a cold or flu.

For tension headaches, the symptoms are usually pain and tightness around the head, like a band. Some headaches radiate from the back of your neck (cervicogenic headaches), while others develop because of irritated nerves in the back of your skull (occipital nerve headaches).

Headaches all cause pain of some description in your head or face, but the nature of the pain varies according to the kind of headache you have. Sinus headaches cause an intense, ice-pick type pain in the front of your face, while irritation of the occipital nerve causes pain near the eye, for example.

Cervicogenic headaches develop because of pain coming from your neck. Symptoms can include one-sided head or facial pain that’s typically deep or throbbing, and you may have a stiff neck as well.

During a migraine headache, you may experience sensitivity to light, sounds, smells, or touch. Nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, or lightheadedness can also occur. Many people who get migraines also experience auras, which are flashing lights or spots in front of their eyes, tunnel vision or loss of vision, or numbness or tingling in the hands,. Learn more about how to treat migraines at home in our BLOG article.

Most types of headaches respond well to medications. The team at Southwest Pain Management also uses injectable treatments, including:

Occipital nerve block
The occipital nerve is at the base of your skull and extends up to the back of your head. Patients experiencing occipital neuralgia headaches, cervical arthritis, or myofascial pain in their necks may benefit from an occipital nerve block injection.

Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) block
An SPG block is a quick, minimally invasive procedure in which your provider at Southwest Pain Management introduces a local anesthetic into your nasal passages.

This involves placing a very thin plastic tube called a catheter into your nose to insert numbing medication in and around the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG), which is a cluster of nerves inside your head. Pain relief lasts anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

Botox® injections
Medical Botox injections are an effective, FDA-approved treatment for chronic migraines that are resistant to conservative treatments. This treatment covered by most insurances.

Before trying Botox, the team at Southwest Pain Management tries traditional treatments, including medications, occipital nerve blocks, SPG blocks, and supraorbital nerve blocks.

Find out more about effective headache treatment by calling Southwest Pain Management today or booking an appointment online.​