Calgary neurologist Dr. Serena Orr spent her profession researching migraine assaults and making an attempt to carry sufferers aid from the painful signs.
Nevertheless it wasn’t till she moved to Calgary that she gained a complete new perspective with a migraine assault of her personal.
“I had mild headaches in all the other places I lived but didn’t think anything of it. It was during COVID. I couldn’t get off the couch. I had severe nausea and brain fog. When the fog started to fade, I realized I didn’t have COVID. I had experienced a severe migraine attack,” Orr mentioned.
“I didn’t understand how bad it was until I experienced it myself. It is super ironic.”
Orr, an affiliate professor on the College of Calgary’s Cumming Faculty of Drugs, labored in collaboration with researchers on the College of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Mind Institute and the Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Well being St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Heart in Phoenix, Arizona.
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The findings are revealed in “Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain” and replace the 2016 pointers of the American Headache Society for the administration of migraine assaults in emergency departments.
The replace reviewed 26 research from the previous 9 years that met the standards involving migraines and visits to emergency departments to carry the therapy suggestions updated.
“This update marks a major change in emergency department migraine care and implementing these treatments can improve patient outcomes and reduce reliance on opioids,” mentioned research co-lead Dr. Jennifer Robblee, a neurologist and migraine and headache problems specialist at Barrow Neurological Institute.
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The analysis recommends occipital nerve blocks needs to be supplied in emergency rooms to deal with acute migraine assaults.
The usage of intravenous Prochlorperazine which blocks dopamine receptors within the mind is advisable however shouldn’t be available. That leaves the better occipital nerve block the place a neighborhood anesthetic and a corticosteroid are injected close to the better occipital nerve.
“The occipital nerves at the base of the skull bring in pain signals to the same area of the brain where pain signals from all over the head are coming in. By anesthetizing these nerves, patients get relief,” mentioned Orr.
“A needle at the back of the head and pushing in a local anesthetic for the nerves to numb the back of the head also changes the pain signaling from all over the head and the brain.”
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Orr was lead writer on the 2016 pointers which have been adopted in Canada and has reached out to the Canadian Headache Affiliation and different neurologists and emergency room docs to encourage their implementation.
“They are American Headache Society’s guidelines but now that they’ve been published this week I’m in touch with Canadian organizations,” she mentioned.
“They’re looking at it and are likely to endorse the things on it.”
The research additionally recommends in opposition to utilizing opioids to deal with complications as a result of different therapies are higher and due to the doable habit points.
Orr mentioned migraines are one of the crucial frequent neurological illnesses on this planet and are largely believed to be genetic, with different components together with childhood trauma and even climate situations and altitude being aggravating components.
The needles have to be utilized by physicians or nurse practitioners however Orr doesn’t assume most sufferers would thoughts.
“The extent of the pain and discomfort made me realize on a very personal level that I would do anything to get rid of it including put needles in my head,” she mentioned.
“Does that mean it’s a cure for everybody? No. We don’t have anything for migraines that everybody will respond well to. We know it’s going to help a lot of people due to good quality research.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed December 5, 2025.
