Nerve decompression surgery can help relieve migraine symptoms The surgery is associated with fewer headache days per month The procedure also decreases the frequency, intensity and duration of migraine attacks MONDAY, June 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Nerve surgery can reduce the number of headache days for people who suffer frequent , a new review finds. The procedure also can decrease the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks, according to results published in the June issue of the journal “Our study adds new evidence that headache surgery improves both sets of measures, providing a more comprehensive assessment of the results of headache surgery," said researcher , a professor of plastic surgery, surgery, neurosurgery and neurology at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Migraine surgery seeks to relieve nerve compression at trigger sites in the head and neck, researchers explained.
This pressure is thought to contribute to headaches. Neurologists assessing migraine treatments tend to focus on whether they reduce the number of days a person has a headache, Janis said. On the other hand, plastic surgeons performing headache surgery typically use an index that evaluates the frequency, intensity and duration of migraines, Janis added.
"This discrepancy is one reason why some headache specialists have been slow to recognize the growing body of evidence showing the effectiveness of headache surgery,” Janis noted in a journal news release. For this review, .
