An occipital nerve block is a minimally invasive treatment that involves injecting a local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids into the back of the head. The primary goal of an occipital nerve block is to treat chronic headaches or diagnose the root cause of your pain. Our board-certified physicians and pain specialists use cutting-edge techniques to diagnose and treat the root cause of your chronic headaches in Edison.
What Does an Occipital Nerve Block Treat?
Occipital Neuralgia
If your occipital nerves are irritated, you may experience headaches at the back of the skull. The headache may start at the base of the skull and go around the side of your head, up to your forehead, and into your eyes. The pain originating from the irritation of the occipital nerves is called occipital neuralgia. An occipital nerve block prevents the occipital nerves from sending pain signals into your brain.
Migraines
Even if your headaches aren’t caused by the irritation of the occipital nerves, they may still transmit pain signals caused by other factors. You may suffer from migraines for various factors, but the occipital nerves are the primary transmitters of the pain signals. Blocking the occipital nerves also alleviates the headaches caused by migraines. If you suffer from persistent migraines, please contact our pain doctors for an occipital nerve block.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are one of the most painful and persistent types of headaches. As the name suggests, cluster headaches occur in clusters or cycles, and they can dramatically affect your quality of life. Occipital nerves carry the pain signals into your brain, even if cluster headaches aren’t caused by the irritation of occipital nerves. Blocking the occipital nerves may remove the pain of cluster headaches.
Diagnostic Occipital Nerve Block
Occipital nerve blocks also serve diagnostic purposes. It can be extremely hard to identify pain originating from the occipital nerves or from different parts of the body. An occipital nerve block can help the pain doctor identify the true source of your headache, allowing them to curate a targeted and personalized treatment plan. The pain doctor will inject the numbing medicine into different parts of the occipital nerves to identify the true source of pain.
Benefits of an Occipital Nerve Block:
- Minimally invasive pain treatment
- Addresses most types of pain affecting the head
- Diagnoses the true root cause of your headache
- No harsh side effects or complications
- Concludes within 15 minutes
- No downtime
Schedule an Appointment
Edison Spine & Pain Management is a state-of-the-art interventional pain management practice specializing in cutting-edge pain treatments. Our pain doctors use cutting-edge technologies and diagnostic techniques to identify the root cause of your headaches. We alleviate your headaches without relying on addictive opioids or risky surgeries, ensuring safe and reliable results. Please schedule an appointment to explore your occipital nerve block treatment options in Edison.
