Occipital Neuralgia

Occipital neuralgia is a long-term condition that causes searing headaches and can significantly affect your quality of life. If you’re affected by the pain of occipital neuralgia, board-certified neurologist and headache specialist Dr. Bernadette Nazario-Lopez, MD, PharmD at Migraine and Headache Center of Florida in Altamonte Springs, Florida, can help. She provides a range of effective occipital neuralgia treatments, including nerve blocks. Call Migraine and Headache Center of Florida today or schedule a consultation online to learn about expert occipital neuralgia treatment.

What is occipital neuralgia?

Occipital neuralgia is a particular type of headache that spreads from your neck up behind your ears and into the back of your head. The pain is typically piercing and can feel like an electric shock going up one side of your head.

You might also feel pain radiating into your scalp and forehead and throbbing behind your eyes. In addition to being painful, your eyes are likely to become light-sensitive, and your scalp could feel tender to the touch.

Although the pain it causes is often intense and disabling, occipital neuralgia isn’t a dangerous condition. The pain you experience comes from the nerve itself rather than signaling a severe problem in your neck or head.

What causes occipital neuralgia?

Occipital neuralgia results from specific nerves suffering damage or coming under pressure. The greater and lesser occipital nerves originate in your neck and go up the back of your head. Trauma or pressure affecting these nerves can be due to various causes, including:

• Tight neck muscles
• Osteoarthritis
• Tumors or other neck lesions
• Localized infection
• Gout
• Diabetes
• Vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation)

Occipital neuralgia can also develop if you consistently spend time with your head bent forward and downward. Many times, there’s no apparent cause for occipital neuralgia.

How is occipital neuralgia treated?

Hot compress and over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory medication can reduce occipital neuralgia pain. Rest quietly and give yourself or have someone else massage you if your neck muscles are tight.

Muscle relaxants and antiseizure drugs like carbamazepine and gabapentin ease occipital neuralgia. Physical therapy stretches the soft tissues and strengthens your muscles. Therapeutic massage may relieve nerve pressure.

Dr. Nazario-Lopez might recommend nerve blocks to relieve pain. You might need several treatments to control your occipital neuralgia pain.

Call Migraine and Headache Center of Florida today or book an appointment online to get expert relief from the agony of occipital neuralgia.