Occipital Neuralgia - Medtick
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Occipital Neuralgia

What is it?

A nerve pain condition which causes pain  in the back of your head or the base of your skull.
  • It can be confused it with migraines or other types of headache, because the symptoms can be similar.

Cause

  • Unknown it is thought to be caused by compression and/or irritation of the occipital nerves (a nerve that runs from the base of the head – top of the spinal cord  to the scalp) or the pressure on the nerve wears away its protective outer layer (myelin sheath), which may cause uncontrollable pain signals to travel along the nerve.
  • Chiari malformations

Triggers which may compress or irritate the nerves are:

  • Nearby blood vessel pressing on part of the nerve
  • Injury in the neck
  • Poor posture in neck
  • Tight muscles in the neck

Symptoms

  • Headache which is on and off or a constant headache longer than 24 hours?
  • Sharp unpredictable  pain back of the head and neck?
  • Jabbing, electric shock in the back of the head and neck?
  • Neck stifness and upper back pain?
  • Aching, burning, and throbbing pain that typically starts at the base of the head and goes to the scalp?
  • Pain behind the eye?
  • Sensitivity to light?
  • Tender scalp?
  • Pain when you move your neck?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

This condition can cause:

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Occipital Neuralgia in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

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