People suffering from chronic headaches and migraines have alternative treatments available to help them to alleviate and manage their conditions ranging from biofeedback, Botox injections, acupuncture, Lidoderm patches and Botox injections.
Biofeedback is a procedure in which a patient is provided with detailed information about particular body functions. The Biofeedback process teaches an individual how to have the ability to direct involuntary body functions like heart rate, blood pressure, including muscle tension. These independent body functions were once considered beyond the control of an individual. However, it has been scientifically proved that by monitoring these functions and feeding back (hence the term biofeedback) the information to the patient on a continuing and instantaneous basis, control over them can be taught and learned.

Through these procedures of self-regulation, the patient can then actually learn to manage at will specific body actions and reactions like release of muscle tension and spasm, lowering of blood pressure, and lessening and even bring to an end headache pain.
With the aid of instruments monitored via a computer, a patient can learn control his automatic body responses. So much so, that with the use of imaging techniques patients has been able to perform hand warming by controlling the dilation of blood vessels in their hand. Biofeedback studies show that it is able to decrease the rate of recurrence, extent and severity of headache pains in approximately 30% of headache patients who have mastered the technique. Biofeedback is considered a remarkably functional tool for children with migraines because of their receptiveness.
Acupuncture derives from traditional Chinese medicine and involves the insertion of fine needle at pathways along the body called meridian. In traditional Chinese medicine, the meridian is believed to follow patterns of energy flow in the human body. Western medical practitioners explain the effectivity of acupuncture as that these well-placed needles cause the release of the body’s natural neuropeptides/enkephalins, beta-endorphins which then bind themselves to the body’s opioid receptors in the central nervous system. These receptors are the body’s nerve endings that act in response to pain-killing medications to alleviate pain. It may also be that nonessential sensory stimulation which may occurs during acupuncture may activate pathways that adjusts and decreases a patient's perception of the feeling of pain.
Botox, a distillation of the botulism toxin, which is a classified as neurotoxin, requires the careful injection of diluted Botox toxin into areas of the forehead and the back of the head and neck. This causes a chemically induced relaxation that momentarily eases stressed muscles and may also relieve tension-type headaches and migraine. However, this treatment is not yet FDA approved for headache; clinical trials reveal its success in approximately 50% of patients. Another downside factor of Botox is its high cost and requirement of repetitive treatment after three to six months.
The Lidoderm patch is a bandage-type of patch impregnated with 5% lidocaine. Lidocaine easily absorbed through the skin and is currently approved for treatment of pain. It may be helpful to lessen the migraine pains in patients if their pain occurs under smooth skin areas like the forehead, the cheek or the neck because the bandage adheres only on smooth areas of the skin. It can be worn for 12 hours daily, with minimal side effects. It is non-sedating but is not FDA approved.