INTERVENTIONAL MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE OCCIPITAL NERVE BLOCKS

Abstract

Peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) are valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tools in head and face pain syndromes and they have been used for the acute and preventive treatment of a variety of primary headache disorders for decades. They can be also beneficial in intractable headache disorders.
Most studies have been case series and many show benefit for patients with migraine, cluster headache, and overuse medication headache.
Their analgesic effect typically lasts beyond the duration of anesthesia caused by the nerve blockade, and the pain relief lasts for several weeks or even months. This prolonged analgesia after nerve blockade may be due to an effect on central pain modulation. 
Targets of these nerve blocks include usually the greater occipital nerve (GON) the lesser occipital nerve (LON), the supraorbital nerve, supratrochlear nerve, mental nerve, auriculotemporal nerve and greater auricular nerve.