Trigger points: A key to stopping Cluster Headache Pain?
I was mentioning in a previous article that I would like to see more studies on cluster headache and trigger points. Well, looks like researchers are getting going with making my wish come true!
The question is this: do myofascial trigger points have anything to do with cluster headache pain? And if they do, what if you could desensitize the trigger points – would the pain decrease?
One small study found the answer to be yes. Patients with both episodic cluster headache and chronic cluster patients were evaluated. They all had mayofascial trigger points. Then they were given anaesthetic injections – some before an attack, and some in an attempt to stop an attack.
The injections were successful in almost 85% of patients. Researchers feel that, along with other preventative medication, injections in trigger points may be a significant treatment for cluster.
Of course, this research isn’t just for the purpose of using anaesthetic injections for treatment – it also confirms that trigger points are a factor in cluster headache pain. That means that other trigger point treatment could lead to significant improvement in cluster headache patients.
Arthur
21 July 2017 @ 11:28 am
More like ‘chronic’ these days; was episodic for two and a half years. Is this not a ‘disability’. It has ruined my life. Why is this problem so forgotten? If I can get to the hospital fast enough, I can get relief in 15 minutes (Oxygen and an IV pain killer). Otherwise, it’s one to three hour-long attacks every day: really horrible pain and ugly side effects from an assortment of meds. I am in the M. East, where treatment options are limited. I fear I will lose my job.
Cindy
23 June 2022 @ 12:38 am
I suffer from tension migraine headaches, and it’s so debilitating because I throw up nausea and feel like my head is going to explode, I did some research and I’ve been taking magnesium before bed and it really helps to relax you from stress and anxiety and I also use ice packs really helps and Gatorade helps also believe or not because it replenishes the electrolytes to stop the migraine in is tracks ???