Dr. Pamela Blake helps many people with chronic headaches lead a more fulfilling life. A subject of particular interest to Dr. Blake is the role of occipital nerve compression as a cause of chronic headaches and led her to develop effective medical interventions as well as further the role of nerve decompression surgery. Let’s discuss her process and publications in an open forum where you can ask questions and write your personal experience at patient.zone
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The puzzle of refractory headaches: Part II
In Part I of this blog, we talked about the first published report, in 1992, that stated that compression of the occipital nerves in the posterior neck could cause chronic head and neck pain, and that surgical removal of pressure from the nerves in a surgical procedure called ‘decompression’ could provide relief. Work in this…
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patient.zone
This post is for you to share your experiences of your headache journey; both the ups and the downs – how can you help someone else from your experience? Click on the post title and leave a reply. Medical Disclaimer
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“Are my headaches really migraines?”
The term ‘migraine’ is often used to mean severe headache, however, there are diagnostic criteria that should be used to diagnose migraine to ensure consistency across all practices. These criteria are in the ICHD-3, the Intenational Classification of Headache Disorders – 3rd edition, which is available online. The diagnostic criteria for migraine do not state…
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The Puzzle of Refractory Headaches: Part I
Refractory headaches are very problematic, causing pain for the patient and consternation for the physician. A possible cause of refractory headaches and neck pain is pressure on the occipital nerves, which travel from the upper neck to the back, top and sides of the head. Welcome to headache.zone. I am Dr. Pamela Blake. I am…
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Rethinking the root of chronic headaches
Chronic headaches are a leading cause of health burden worldwide and are debilitating for people living with the condition. Pamela Blake, MD, Director of the Headache Center of River Oaks, and Carlton Perry, MD, River Oaks Plastic Surgery Center, are exploring the underlying cause of the condition in the hope of finding ways to provide…
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Headache 360 – The Headache Neurologist on the Cutting Edge
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 29, 2019 BY ADAM LOWENSTEIN Speaker 1:Welcome to the Headache 360 Podcast, a place to learn about the diagnosis and treatment of chronic headache and migraine pain, because information can be the best medicine. Dr. Lowenstein:Hello and welcome to our next episode of the Headache 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein.…
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Emerging evidence of occipital nerve compression in unremitting head and neck pain
Summary: Below is the abstract of the above article which was published in 2019 in the Journal of Headache and Pain. This article is a review of the topic of occipital nerve compression headaches, the clinical presentation of the headaches, and a little about treatment options. The full article is available online. Link to article…
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Tracking patients with chronic occipital headache after occipital nerve decompression surgery: A case series
Below is the abstract of an article that reviewed the clinical outcomes of several patients who underwent nerve decompression surgery for nerve compression headache. Some patients did very well, and some did not experience relief. The article is available online. Link to article Background: The therapeutic benefit of nerve decompression surgeries for chronic headache/migraine are controversial.…
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Extracranial origin of headache
This review article summarizes the data that show that headaches can originate extracranially, and it aims to challenge the opinion-based notion that headaches must occur from intracranial (meaning inside the skull) pathology alone. The article is available online. Link to article Purpose of review: To summarize recent clinical and preclinical studies on extracranial pathophysiologies in migraine.…