Headaches can be common in children. Headaches can occur by themselves, or another medical condition can cause them. While most headaches are not life-threatening, they can impair your child’s ability to attend school and enjoy life.
If your child experiences painful headaches on a regular basis, he or she may need further evaluation. The Riley Headache Program at IU Health is unique to Indiana and includes Indiana’s only board certified pediatric headache specialist.
When your child comes to the Riley Headache Program at IU Health, a multidisciplinary team of doctors, including neurologists, pain specialists, psychologists and sleep specialists, will review your child's symptoms and make recommendations for treatment. The neurologists will also work with neurosurgeons to rule out other causes for the headaches such as moyamoya disease.
Our specialists are highly skilled at diagnosing and treating a wide variety of headache conditions, including new daily persistent headaches, chronic tension headaches and migraines. Treatments such as medicines, biofeedback and nerve blocks may be used to reduce pain and prevent future headache episodes so your child can return to his or her regular activities.
Our team members communicate regularly with referring physicians by written reports or by phone. In most cases, specialists in the program will continue to manage your child’s care. If your child’s diagnosis is straightforward, the referring physician may manage his or her ongoing care.
Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.
Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.
We offer a number of different Headache Program services. Below are some, but not all, of the services that we provide. If you have a question about a specific service that is not listed here, please contact our program.
In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.
The Headache Program at Riley at IU Health provides the following forms for parents, healthcare providers and personnel. We have also curated relevant resources from other websites and provided links with brief descriptions of the information that is available.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Migraines
This government website provides information about treatment and research related to migraines.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Headaches
Learn more about treatment for headaches from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
This website from the National Center for Biotechnology Information delivers comprehensive information about the prevention and treatment of headaches and migraines.
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related programs & departments.
The Riley Headache Program at IU Health works with referring physicians to diagnose the type of headache and create a treatment plan for each individual patient.
Referring physicians should fill out the referral form and fax it to the number below. Please call if you have questions about the referral process.
Phone Number: 317.948.7450 or 855.763.0001
Fax Number: 317.968.1193
The Riley Headache Program at IU Health is a teaching center where some medical students, pediatric and neurology residents and fellows from the Indiana University School of Medicine receive training and participate in research.
