Cryoneurolysis Treatment for Headache?

Cryoneurolysis is a treatment that has been used for chronic pain, but what about headache?

You may have already guessed from the prefix “cryo” that this has something to do with cold, and you’re right. In this case, it’s extreme cold – we’re not talking about ice packs.

When we use cryoneurolysis to treat pain, it’s called cryoanalgesia. There are other applications, but that’s the one that’s important to us at the moment..

Cryoneurolysis involves inserting a probe (a “cryoprobe” – no kidding) into the body to apply extreme cold to a speficic area, usually nerve tissue. The cold breaks up some of the tissue, interrupting the pain signals that are carried by the nerve. The nerve will actually regenerate over time, making this a temporary procedure – although at times the regeneration may improve your symptoms.

Now we know that for many types of headache, simply cutting off a certain pain signal from a certain nerve isn’t the answer, and may cause more problems than it solves. However, when we have a more specific understanding of where the pain is coming from, this may be a useful procedure, although it isn’t widespread yet (for headache conditions).

When you see the word “neuralgia” – a certain kind of nerve pain – that’s a clue that this type of treatment might be useful. Patients have received surgery for occipital neuralgia, for example, a certain kind of head pain from certain nerves. This 2021 study is an example of the work that’s being done for this type of condition.

Trigeminal neuralgia is another example. A study is starting in Norway to investigate the usefulness of cryoneurolysis for this very painful condition.

Cryoneurolysis has its drawbacks, which we’ve already mentioned. Its use for headache is not widespread. But it also tends to be unpredictable in its duration. How long will the pain relief be? That may vary quite a bit. And it is still a surgery.

However, researchers continue to investigate because it’s a relatively easy procedure, with few side effects. If it’s found to be useful, it can also be a very cost-effective treatment. And although the duration of relief may be unpredictable, it can last for a long time in some patients – much longer than the pills people are taking that only last a few hours at best.

For a technical overview of some of the other uses of cryoanalgesia besides headache, check out The applications of cryoneurolysis for acute and chronic pain management from 2023. For a more user-friendly summery, read Freezing Nerves, An Effective Way To Treat Chronic Pain.