Headaches

Headaches and migraines lower your quality of life, especially when your head pain is chronic. At Union Anesthesia Associates, with offices in Union, Scotch Plains, Bloomfield, South Bound Brook, New Brunswick, Old Bridge, and Woodbridge, New Jersey, pain relief solutions are available for different headaches. The board-certified pain management specialists tailor a care plan to ease your pain. They offer medication and other ways to prevent headaches. Call the Union Anesthesia Associates office nearest you today to schedule a diagnostic evaluation for headaches or book your consultation online.

What causes headaches?

Headaches cause head and face pain, ranging in intensity from mild to severe. Primary headaches are head pain that develops for no identifiable reason. Secondary headaches result from underlying medical problems like sinus infections.

Some headaches can be painful enough to interfere with your daily routine, including:

Tension headaches

Tension headaches are caused by over-tight shoulder and neck muscles due to exertion or excess stress. Pain usually affects both sides of your head and ranges from a dull ache to moderate pain in your head, face, and neck.

Cluster headaches

Cluster headaches cause episodes of severe pain behind the eye on one side of your head. Pain episodes can last several weeks or months before going into remission.

Migraines

Migraines usually cause throbbing or stabbing pain on one or both sides of the head. The pain’s severity can trigger nausea, vision disturbances, and increased sensitivity to light and sound.

Union Anesthesia Associates provides comprehensive care for persistent or chronic headaches. The board-certified pain management specialists personalize a treatment plan to manage existing headache pain and reduce the frequency of headaches.

When should I seek medical care for headaches?

Occasional headaches are usually manageable with over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers and anti-inflammatories. Schedule a diagnostic evaluation at Union Anesthesia Associates if you have frequent or painful headaches that don’t improve with home care.

The providers evaluate your symptoms to identify the type of headache you have. They could order bloodwork or other diagnostic tests to check for infection and other medical problems contributing to recurrent headaches.

How are headaches treated?

Union Anesthesia Associates offers personalized care plans to manage headache pain. The providers will initially recommend:

• Lifestyle changes
• Diet improvements
• Massage therapy
• Stress reduction techniques

Prescription medication is available to relieve existing headache pain. The team also offers preventive medicine to stop further headaches and migraines.

If you suffer from chronic migraines and experience 15 or more headaches a month, you could be a candidate for Botox® therapy. Botox is an injectable medication that blocks pain signals from traveling to your brain. Over time, Botox therapy can reduce the frequency and severity of migraines.

Call the Union Anesthesia Associates office nearest you today to schedule a diagnostic evaluation for headaches, or book your appointment online.