# Comparative study of greater occipital nerve block and conventional therapy in chronic migraine

## TL;DR

This study compares a nerve block treatment with standard care for chronic migraine, finding the nerve block more effective at reducing pain and disability.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that ultrasound-guided greater occipital nerve block improves outcomes compared to conventional therapy for chronic migraine.

## Key findings

- The block group had a greater reduction in migraine disability scores compared to the conventional group.
- Patients receiving the block reported lower pain scores and higher satisfaction.
- Ultrasound-guided nerve block was found to be safe and effective with reduced medication use.

## Abstract

Chronic migraine is disabling and medicines alone are often not enough so ultrasound guided greater occipital nerve block is used as
an add-on therapy. We observed 100 patients where one group received prophylaxis with the block and the other received only prophylaxis
with follow up of 90 days. The block group showed a bigger fall in migraine disability score (14.2 to 6.8 vs 14.3 to 9.2 p < 0.0001),
lower VAS score (7.9 to 4.4 vs 7.1 to 6.0 p < 0.0001) and fewer headache episodes early and higher satisfaction (12.7 vs 12.3
p = 0.016). Ultrasound guided block was safe and simple and gave better pain relief with reduced medicine use and improved patient
satisfaction.