Toxins

It’s good to see researchers paying more attention to neck pain as a symptom of migraine. One example is a study being published this year in the journal Toxins.

In this case, the study focused on onabotulinumtoxinA treatment, commonly known under the brand name of Botox. Botox has become a well-known treatment for chronic migraine, although we still have a lot to learn about the best way to use it.

This study focused not only on headache pain, but also neck disability and pain. Researchers used the Neck Disability Index (NDI), a ten-question survey filled out by patients to measure just how much neck pain is affecting their lives (see this example). For example, do you have trouble driving because of the pain? Are you avoiding recreational activities? Is neck pain robbing you of sleep?

A single onabotulinumtoxinA session did significantly decrease neck pain and disability in the patients over the next three months. Significant disability due to neck pain became mild, and headache pain decreased as well.

The authors of the study noted that this could mean a significantly better quality of life. These were patients who, at the beginning, were significantly disabled by both headache and neck pain.

This was a short-term study, so the researchers would like to see if these improvements hold over a longer period of time, with further treatments.

Still, there are a couple of things that can be taken from this study. First, be aware of neck pain and stiffness, during and in-between your migraine attacks. This is a symptom which may be causing you a lot more trouble than you realize. Second, if you have chronic migraine and have considered Botox as a treatment, this might be a further reason to give it a try. Be sure to keep track of both your headache and migraine symptoms and your neck pain, and share your results with your doctor.

For more on this study, see the pdf here: OnabotulinumtoxinA Treatment in Chronic Migraine: Investigation of Its Effects on Disability, Headache and Neck Pain Intensity