If you are dealing with chronic headaches or migraines you may have exhausted every medication and treatment available and not found something that works.  Here we have identified some treatments you may not have tried yet.  Always consult with a physicians about what the best treatment options for your circumstance are.

BOTOX® Injections
If you are dealing with chronic migraines and headaches more than 15 times per month, it’s time to consider a new treatment option for your pain. Our office offers BOTOX® injections to patients to help relieve pain. BOTOX® helps to reduce the nerve endings sending pain signals to the brain and is a very successful treatment with minimal side effects. Talk to your doctor to find out if this treatment plan is right for you.

Diet Changes
What you eat and drink can trigger pain so it is best to avoid headache triggers. First make sure you are staying hydrated. Dehydration is a common cause of headaches and it is the easiest change to make. Another common headache cause is skipping meals. You may be eager to stick to a limited diet but be careful that this doesn’t actually increase headaches. Other triggers of headaches can include cheese, deli meats, MSG, caffeine, red wine and alcoholic drinks.

Hot and Cold Therapy
If your headache originates from tension in the neck, applying heat is a great way to soothe the pain. For other headaches, cold packs are a better option because they drop the temperature of blood flowing which can alleviate throbbing and act as an anti-inflammatory.

Essential Oils
Many people find that essential oils can help assist in reducing pain, however it may not alleviate the headache entirely. Peppermint, basil and lavender oils can be inhaled or applied directly to skin to ease headache and migraine pain. In particular, peppermint oil helps to open up blood vessels and promote blood flow, which can help since migraines can be caused by poor blood flow. Also, basil oil has been proven to be a muscle relaxant, which can alleviate tension headaches in many people. Lavender’s sent is calming, which can help headache and migraine sufferers to release pain-causing tension in their bodies.

Relax With Meditation
Meditation can work by focusing and quieting your mind, which keeps your mind from being distracted by things such as chronic pain. A recent study tested the effectiveness of Vipassana (an Indian form of meditation focused on mind-body connectedness) in quelling chronic migraine pain. Although there is not a lot of backing in this technique yet, it is still a viable option if you are looking for non-invasive techniques to combat headaches.

Sources:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20538298,00.html
http://www.everydayhealth.com/headache-migraine-pictures/8-home-remedies-for-headaches-and-migraines.aspx#01
http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/tc/acupuncture-topic-overview
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/yoga-for-headaches_n_3574848.html
http://painmanagementtrends.com/2015/10/7-ways-to-relieve-your-headache/
http://www.everydayhealth.com/headache-migraine/fast-headache-relief.aspx
http://painmanagementtrends.com/2015/02/headache-triggers-to-avoid/