A preliminary study evaluating the response to greater occipital nerve (GON) blockage therapy in patients with vestibular migraine

Abstract

We herein report the efficacy of greater occipital nerve (GON) blockage on headache and vertigo in patients with vestibular migraine (VM). VM is a clinical condition characterized by vestibular attacks associated with migrainous features. For the diagnosis, five episodes with vestibular symptoms of moderate or severe intensity, lasting 5 minutes to 72 hours are needed in an individual with a current or previous history of migraine.2 In addition, half of the vestibular symptoms require accompaniment of one or more migraine features, including migraine-like headache or photophobia, phonophobia, or visual aura. It has a prevalence of 2.7% in adults and is 1.5 to 5 times more common in women. GON blockage has been shown to be effective4 and superior to placebo5 in chronic migraine. Independently of medical treatment, GON blockage reduces the frequency, duration, and intensity of headache attacks, analgesic use, and improves patients’ quality of life.