Locally injected steroids not very much effective for treatment of chronic headache
There are no additional benefits of adding steroids to the local anesthetics when it comes to treating daily headaches, according to a study by neurologists at the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
This study was based on findings that were obtained after studying 29 men and women suffering from chronic daily headaches. The patients were divided into two groups. One of the groups was administered with GONB (greater occipital nerve block) with lidocaine and bupivicaine alone and the other was administered with the two drugs with steroids.
From News-Medical.Net:
According to Avi Ashkenazi, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, greater occipital nerve block (GONB) is a technique to treat acute headaches by locally injecting anesthetics such as lidocaine just under the skin to provide acute pain relief for acute headache attacks and migraines. Such treatments can work quickly, perhaps in seconds or by five to 10 minutes, and its effectiveness could last from hours to two or three days to several weeks. Treatment can be repeated if needed, he notes, and it has few side effects.
There are two ways to block the occipital nerves: by injecting a local anesthetic alone or by adding an anti-inflammatory steroid along with the anesthetic. No data exist whether one is better than the other, but the use of corticosteroids is controversial because of their potential side effects, such as hair loss at the site of injection. He notes that there is no consensus among headache experts about steroid use for headache.
Dr. Ashkenazi and his team are now planning to see results of the next four weeks of post-therapy data besides recruiting more patients to conduct trials. It was remarked by Ashkenazi that there is a possibility that he and his team will find steroids lengthening the anti-inflammatory effects of injections.
