Chronic Headache - A Difficult Problem in Treatment
For many people, chronic headaches are not just a temporary discomfort, but a persistent daily obsession. This disease is determined when the patient has headaches lasting more than 15 days per month and continuously for at least 3 months.
Unlike common headaches, chronic headaches are dull, repetitive, and wear down the patient's health and spirit, causing fatigue, reduced concentration, and a significant decrease in work performance and quality of life.
Chronic, dull headaches affect quality of life (Illustration: Istock).
According to Dr. Trinh Tu Tam - Head of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Hong Ngoc Phuc Truong Minh General Hospital, to effectively treat chronic headaches, it is necessary to first clearly identify the cause to find the most appropriate treatment plan. The most common is Migraine with severe throbbing pain accompanied by symptoms of nausea and photophobia.
There are also secondary headaches, headaches caused by prolonged stress, drug abuse, nerve damage, inflammation of the 5th cranial nerve, pain caused by shingles, etc. These are all complex pains that are difficult to control and require long-term treatment.
To treat chronic headaches, patients are usually prescribed preventive medications such as pain relievers, vasodilators, antidepressants, anti-epileptics, etc., to reduce the frequency and intensity of pain. At the same time, it is necessary to combine non-drug methods such as physical therapy, stress reduction relaxation, lifestyle adjustments, etc.
However, not everyone responds well to medical treatment. In addition, long-term use of drugs can easily lead to drug resistance, digestive disorders, anxiety, depression and many other side effects. At this time, patients need a new solution - more effective and safer.
Interventional Radiology - The Solution to Chronic Headache Treatment
The emergence of interventional radiology for chronic pain has brought hope to patients with persistent pain, little or no response to medical treatment or frequent side effects when using drugs.
This method is performed by using a small needle to inject a mixture of drugs (including anti-inflammatory drugs and anesthetics to relieve pain) into the painful nerve location under the guidance of modern imaging diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound, digital subtraction imaging, and computed tomography. From there, the highest dose of drug is concentrated in the damaged area, eliminating pain transmission to the central nervous system.
Interventional radiology for pain relief is highly appreciated for its minimal invasiveness, the patient does not need anesthesia, the procedure is quick, only about 20 minutes, the patient has significant pain relief immediately after the procedure and reduces the level of dependence on medication in the following days.
This method is especially effective in cases of pain due to neurological causes such as trigeminal neuralgia, post-traumatic headaches, occipital neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, etc.
Dr. Trinh Tu Tam performs nerve block injection under CT scan guidance (Photo: BVCC).
As in the case of Ms. BTĐ, who has had chronic headaches for 8 years with throbbing pain radiating from the nape of her neck to the top of her left head. The constant pain caused her to lose her appetite, lose sleep, and suffer from severe mental and physical weakness. She was examined by Dr. Tam and prescribed an occipital nerve block injection under the guidance of a CT scanner. After only 5 minutes of performing the procedure, Ms. Đ felt the pain decrease significantly and her head and face felt much lighter - a result that many pain relievers had not been able to achieve before.
Discussing the effectiveness of interventional radiology pain relief, Dr. Tam shared: “The effectiveness of an interventional radiology pain relief procedure is assessed based on the patient’s level of pain relief after the procedure. If the patient’s pain level or medication dose is reduced by more than half compared to before, the intervention is considered successful. This is not a complete cure, but a method to help control pain better and limit drug abuse.
Interventional radiology - an effective method to reduce the dose of medication needed for people with chronic headaches.
With the rapid development of medical technology, interventional radiology is opening a new chapter in the treatment of chronic headaches - where patients no longer have to live with persistent, uncontrollable pain.
Interventional radiology technique for headache treatment is implemented at Hong Ngoc General Hospital under the implementation of a team of experienced experts and a modern imaging diagnostic equipment system, bringing hope to thousands of patients.
Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology - Hong Ngoc General Hospital
- No. 8 Chau Van Liem, Tu Liem Ward, Hanoi
- Hotline: 0912 002 131 – 0949 646 556
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/dien-quang-can-thiep-loi-thoat-cho-nguoi-song-chung-voi-dau-dau-man-tinh-20250822003959692.htm
Comment (0)