Headaches
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Joshuason Rehabilitation & Pain Management LTD
John Wrightson, MD, FAAPMR
Pain Management located in New Castle, PA & Beaver Falls, PA
While everyone has a headache occasionally, chronic headaches that occur more than twice a week could be a sign of a more serious problem. At Joshuason Rehabilitation & Pain Management LTD, John Wrightson, MD, a double board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation and interventional pain management specialist, diagnoses the cause of your headaches and provides state-of-the-art treatments to reduce or eliminate them. Call one of the offices in Beaver Falls and New Castle, Pennsylvania, or make an appointment online today.
Headaches Q & A
What are some common causes of chronic headaches?
Some of the most common causes of headaches, such as dehydration, eye strain, and lack of rest, cause infrequent headaches. If you have chronic or severe headaches, other factors usually contribute to your pain. These include:
- Inflammation in the blood vessels in your brain
- Nerve impingement or damage
- Intracranial pressure
- Infections, such as meningitis
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder
- Trigger points and tension in your neck or back
If you have headaches more than twice a week or if the standard dose of over-the-counter pain medication doesn’t relieve your headache, make an appointment at Joshuason Rehabilitation & Pain Management LTD for expert diagnosis and treatment.
How is the cause of headaches diagnosed?
Dr. Wrightson and the team at Joshuason Rehabilitation & Pain Management LTD offer comprehensive consultations to assess your headaches.
They talk to you in detail about your personal and family medical history and lifestyle. Dr. Wrightson may also order blood tests, CT scans, or MRIs to collect more information about the cause of your headaches.
They also ask about the frequency and severity of your headaches and any accompanying symptoms. For example, sensitivity to light, sound, and fragrance, auras, and nausea indicate that your headaches are migraines.
How are migraines different from headaches?
Migraines are a collection of neurological symptoms that usually include severe headaches. Migraine headaches tend to be localized to one side of your head. Migraines are also identified by other symptoms such as auras, sensory sensitivity, dizziness, and nausea.
How are headaches treated?
When Dr. Wrightson identifies the cause of your headaches, he recommends treatment to alleviate your pain. Some of the common treatments for chronic headaches and migraines include:
- Greater/lesser occipital nerve blocks
- Third occipital nerve blocks/radiofrequency neural ablation
- Occipital nerve stimulators
- Trigeminal/gasserian ganglion blocks/radiofrequency neural ablation
- Sphenopalatine blocks
- Stellate ganglion blocks
Dr. Wrightson may also recommend physical therapy to reduce muscle tension that contributes to your headaches. You may also benefit from some lifestyle adjustments, such as drinking more water and getting more sleep.
Call Joshuason Rehabilitation & Pain Management LTD or make an appointment online today to get expert treatment for headaches.
