Management and treatment of headache in the pain clinic

Nerve block therapy is one of the non-pharmacological methods in headache treatment. Most pain clinics in Japan use nerve block therapy to treat pain together with pharmacological methods. Sensory nerve blocks such as the trigger point block, occipital nerve block, trigeminal nerve block, C-2, 3 spinal nerve block, etc., are effective for headache pain. One of the characteristic treatments of headache in the pain clinic in Japan is the stellate ganglion block(SGB). Although it has not been fully clarified why SGB is effective in treating headache, stabilization of the abnormal sympathetic nerve function, suppression of inflammation of vascular wall etc., are thought to be related to the effectiveness of SGB. Nerve block therapy is effective for the treatment of headache patients and offers us an important therapeutic option for treatment of headache pain.