There is a big difference between a headache, even a bad headache, and a migraine.
A migraine is a debilitating pain in the head and neck area which in addition to pain often causes dizziness and possibly vomiting.
A migraine is often described as a single event, or a series of events lasting for days, sometimes resulting in the hospitalization.
For anyone who has suffered from a migraine the experience is more than memorable; something that they hope to never experience again.
Unfortunately, in the majority of cases migraine sufferers experience multiple episodes over the course of a year leading them to seek relief in any way possible.
Identifying a good candidate for the nerve decompression surgery means quantifying the symptoms.
In most cases if a patient has suffered from recurring migraines for at least six months, feels some tenderness in the back, side or front of their head and has been seeing a headache specialist, they are a good choice for nerve decompression surgery.
In many cases, pressure applied to the outside of a patient's head or neck, will exacerbate the pressure and produce a pain response in the patient, providing a good indication that a nerve is being pinched in the area.
Migraine Pain And A Compressed Nerve Doctors once believed the migraine pain was caused by pressure in the skull, but that has since been rethought.
The majority of migraine cases today appear to be caused by a neuralgia, or decompression of a nerve in the head or neck.
In most cases the offending area is located in the occipital portion of the head which is right where the head and neck join.
Within that area of the patient's head a nerve is likely being pinched by a muscle, causing the regular, effects of migraines.
During nerve decompression surgery the surgeon identifies the area where the nerve is being pressed, or pinched, by muscle, and removes or alters the portion of muscle causing the problem.
Once the muscle has been removed the nerve can reflex and regenerate, leading to a success rate of nearly 80 percent.
Because the pinched nerve is used for sensory purposes only, a small percentage of patients who do not find relief from the first surgery schedule a second follow-up surgery to remove the nerve completely.
This surgery is almost always done on an out-patient basis and patients are advised to go home and rest for a couple weeks.
The incision made for this procedure is very small, done right at the hairline, so there is very little, if any, scarring.