Treating eye pain eases migraine

Handling inflammation of a tendon in the eye socket may help stop a migraine attack. Some people with migraine have pain around the eye socket just before an attack starts. The pain is due to inflammation of the trochlea tendon in the eye socket, a condition known as trochleitis. A new study suggests that treating this may be all that's needed to relieve the migraine itself.

According to researchers in Texas, they studied five women with migraine who reported pain in the eye socket. Tests, including brain imaging, revealed that they had trochleitis. Steroid injections reduced the inflammation and this produced relief of the eye pain and the migraine symptoms. The researchers believe that steroid injections might be considered for people with other headaches that are accompanied by eye pain. Possibilities of treating both may be successful in future.