Faculty Research: Targeting Occipital Headache Pain: Preliminary Data Supporting an Alternative Approach to Occipital Nerve Block

KPC2020 Faculty member Stephanie G. Vanterpool, MD, MBA publishes this month in the Clinical Journal of Pain. 

Targeting Occipital Headache Pain: Preliminary Data Supporting an Alternative Approach to Occipital Nerve Block

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Occipital nerve block (ONB) is an effective procedure for treating occipital headache pain. However, traditional sub-occipital approaches to ONB remain underutilized in the acute and chronic settings. An alternative location for ONB is the superior nuchal line, where anatomic studies show a reliable relationship between occipital artery and greater occipital nerve. This study evaluated the efficacy and validity of an alternative, single skin insertion, paresthesia-based approach to block both the greater and lesser occipital nerve.

Read the abstract of her work HERE and don’t miss Dr. Vanterpool’s presentation on Treating Head and Neck Pain, Saturday, March 7, 2020.  Register for KPC2020 Today. 

Vanterpool, S. G., R. E. Heidel, and L. R. Rejoub. “Targeting Occipital Headache Pain: Preliminary Data Supporting an Alternative Approach to Occipital Nerve Block.” The Clinical Journal of Pain (2020).