Occipital neuralgia can be the result of pinched nerves or muscle tightness in the neck. It can also be caused by a head or neck injury. Occipital neuralgia can either be primary or secondary. A secondary condition is associated with an underlying disease.
Tension headache.
This is the most common type of headache. It happens when the muscles in your scalp and neck tighten. This causes pain on the sides and back of your head. Usually it's a dull pain that doesn't throb.
The 4 well-known symptoms of occipital neuralgia include: Brief, intense headache pain. Longer-lasting, dull headache pain.
Occipital neuralgia can cause sudden, sharp and intense pain. Usually, this pain runs along your scalp or feels like a throbbing sensation behind your eye. Occipital neuralgia shares many of the same symptoms as other headache disorders.
Occipital neuralgia, a nerve-induced headache, can be confused with migraine because the symptoms can be similar. They include: Aching, burning or throbbing from the base of your head up to your scalp.
Occipital neuralgia happens when there's pressure or irritation to your occipital nerves, maybe because of an injury, tight muscles that entrap the nerves, or inflammation. Many times, doctors can't find a cause for it. Some medical conditions are linked to it, including: Trauma to the back of the head.
Medications and a set of three steroid injections, with or without botulinum toxin, can "calm down" the overactive nerves. Some patients respond well to non-invasive therapy and may not require surgery; however, some patients do not get relief and may eventually require surgical treatment.
MR neurography can be reliably used for the diagnosis of greater occipital nerve neuropathy in patients with unilateral occipital migraines with a good correlation of imaging findings to the clinical presentation.
Yes, occipital neuralgia may go away on its own, but it may take some time. Not every individual requires medication and surgery. One can get rid of occipital neuralgia on its own if the cause of inflammation is corrected.
Occipital neuralgia — This issue occurs when one of your occipital nerves is pinched, irritated or damaged. Occipital neuralgia tends to cause throbbing, sharp or electriclike pain where your neck meets your skull. The pain may also radiate into one side of your scalp.
See your provider soon if: Your headaches wake you up from sleep, or your headaches make it difficult for you to fall asleep. A headache lasts more than a few days. Headaches are worse in the morning.
A group of muscles that frequently experience trigger points is known as the suboccipital muscles. This is a group of four muscles that are located at the base of the skull and are responsible for subtle movements between the skull and first and second vertebrae in our neck.
Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms
A cervicogenic headache presents as a steady, non-throbbing pain at the back and base of the skull, sometimes extending downward into the neck and between the shoulder blades. Pain may be felt behind the brow and forehead, even though the problem originates from the cervical spine.
Tumors rarely metastasize to the paravertebral region; compression of the upper cervical nerve roots may result in occipital neuralgia (1,2).
Idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis is a plausible cause of occipital neuralgia and may present without cranial-nerve palsy.
Because of the inflammatory process associated with occipital neuralgia, anti-inflammatory nutrients can be beneficial for patients who suffer from this type of headache. Calcium/magnesium supplements are most commonly used for their overall anti-inflammatory properties.
Take NSAIDs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen (e.g., Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (e.g., Aleve). Taking them may help reduce inflammation and relieve headache/neck pain.
The best treatment for occipital neuralgia is often massage. It is so beneficial because it helps relieve the pain of occipital neuralgia due to tight neck muscles and muscle tension that is putting pressure on the nerves.
Stress can create tension or tightness in your neck muscles. Tight neck muscles compress your occipital nerves, leading to occipital neuralgia pain. By managing your stress, you can both ease and prevent the formation of tension in your muscles and encourage relaxation instead.
Acute continuous occipital neuralgia often has an underlying cause. The attacks last for many hours and are typically devoid of radiating symptoms (e.g., trigger zones to the face). The entire episode of neuralgia will continue up to 2 weeks before remission. Exposure to cold is a common trigger.
The suboccipital muscles can become tense and tender due to factors such as eye strain, wearing new eyeglasses, poor ergonomics at a computer workstation, poor posture, or trauma. They can also be overworked due to compensating for ligament injury/instability. This can result in neck pain at the base of the skull.
Suboccipital muscle tension — The four suboccipital muscles run between the top cervical vertebrae and the base of the skull. Poor posture while working on a computer can lead to tension in these muscles. This tension can also come from long hours of staring down at a cellphone or tablet.
If the pain lasts or recurs, you may wonder if you have a serious problem such as a brain tumor. Here's the reassuring truth: Headache, by itself, is rarely caused by a tumor.