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UT Medicine Headache and Facial Pain Clinic

Map showing location of Health Transformation Building

Main Location

Health Transformation Building

1601 Trinity Street, Bldg. A, 8th Floor
Austin, TX 78712

Call

512-495-5414

Fax

512-495-5680

Expert headache and migraine care in Austin

At UT Medicine's Headache and Facial Pain Clinic, our specialists diagnose, treat and manage the full spectrum of headache disorders and facial pain conditions, from migraine and cluster headache to trigeminal neuralgia and other complex neuralgias. Headache and facial pain conditions are often misdiagnosed or dismissed, so patients need a care team trained specifically in headache medicine to identify a precise diagnosis and build an effective treatment plan.

As part of UT Medicine's Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences, the Headache and Facial Pain Clinic brings together clinicians with advanced training in headache medicine, along with access to Botox therapy, peripheral nerve blocks and individualized medication management. We work closely with neurology, imaging and other specialties to build a treatment plan around each patient's specific condition and goals.

Our treatment approach

Headache and facial pain conditions can look similar on the surface but require very different treatments. Our headache medicine specialists take the time to establish an accurate diagnosis — distinguishing, for example, between migraine and a trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia, or between trigeminal neuralgia and atypical facial pain.

Treatment at the Headache and Facial Pain Clinic is informed by current headache medicine research and reviewed within an academic medical center setting.

Headshot of Stephanie Denzler. She is wearing an olive green blouse and a white coat.

Stephanie Denzler

UT Medicine Headache and Facial Pain Clinic, UT Medicine Neurology

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Conditions we treat

  • Migraine — treated with a combination of as-needed abortive therapy for acute attacks, as well as preventive treatment strategies (including medication, Botox, and/or neuromodulation devices) for patients with frequent migraine
  • Cluster headache and other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (paroxysmal hemicrania, hemicrania continua, SUNCT/SUNA) — often requires condition-specific medication strategies and, in some cases, nerve blocks
  • Post-traumatic headache —  caused by a prior head injury, with a medication and management plan tailored to the headache pattern
  • Chronic tension headache — typically managed with a structured medication plan and evaluation
  • Cervicogenic headache — treated with peripheral nerve blocks and management of the underlying neck-related cause
  • Spontaneous intracranial hypotension and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (low- and high-pressure headache) — requires diagnosis of the underlying pressure abnormality
  • Trigeminal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia and other facial neuralgias (including glossopharyngeal neuralgia) — often treated with nerve-pain-specific medication management and, in some cases, nerve blocks

Treatments we offer

  • Medication management — individualized medication plans that may include preventive medications and medications specific to nerve pain conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia. Evidence-based non-pharmacological options, such as certain supplements, neuromodulation devices, and/or physical therapy may also be discussed depending on the diagnosis.
  • Botox for chronic migraine — Botox is administered as a series of small injections around the head and neck on a repeating schedule. This treatment is typically considered for patients who have not had adequate relief from oral preventive medications.
  • Peripheral nerve blocks — peripheral nerve blocks deliver a local anesthetic, sometimes combined with a steroid, near specific nerves involved in headache or facial pain — such as the occipital nerve. Nerve blocks can be used to interrupt an active headache or pain cycle, or to help confirm a diagnosis.

Frequently asked questions

Botox for chronic migraine uses the same medication as cosmetic Botox but is administered in a specific, FDA-approved injection pattern and dosing schedule designed to reduce migraine frequency, not to treat wrinkles.

A peripheral nerve block can be used to treat an active headache or facial pain flare, or to help confirm which nerve is contributing to a patient's pain.

Not necessarily. Some patients use medication on an ongoing preventive basis, while others use it short-term to manage a specific episode, such as a post-traumatic headache, or in combination with other treatments like Botox or nerve blocks.