Is Occipital Neuralgia the Cause of your Pain..

So how do you know if this is causing your chronic migraine headaches? It's not easy. Your doctor may give you a thorough evaluation which will include a medical history, and physical examination. He may give you an MRI. My wife had one. They said her migraines was coming from bad facet joints.

It's a type of headache, and its symptoms are piercing, throbbing, or electric shock like chronic pain in the upper neck, back of the head, and behind the ears.

It's usually located on one side of the head. You may have pain behind the eyes, and your scalp may be tender to the touch, on the side of the head that hurts. Here's why you could be having a problem from the occipital nerves.

#(1)The pain could be from injury to the nerves, which could be the result of a blow or fall to the back of the head.

#(2)Pinching of the nerves by tight neck muscles, or compression of the nerve, as it leaves the spine, due to osteoarthritis.(My wife's diagnose)

#(3)Working on a computer with frequent long periods of keeping the head in a downward, and forward position is associated with occipital neuralgia. Many hours are spent on PC nowdays.

But they may find nothing, and if you find relief of your migraine with a nerve block, that will let the doctors know that you have occipital neuralgia.

You have a pair of nerves, and you can have pain on either side of your head.

Occipital neuralgia is not a life threatening condition, but it feels like it.

Recovery is usually complete after the bout of pain has ended and the nerve damage repaired or lessened.

Nonsurgical treatment to help with the pain.

Your symptoms may improve or disappear with heat, rest, physical therapy including massage, anti inflammatory medications, muscle relaxants, and pain medicine.

Also nerve blocks can help with your pain.

Notice how I said that the above could help you? And it could help with your migraine headache pain. But if it doesn't, surgery will help you.

Here is what can be done if all else fails. Now remember to find a headache clinic that offers these options, we have, and the results will be posted after a procedure has been done called a decompression on the occipital nerve.

Before you chose one, make sure you ask what they offer, the invasive procedures they offer. You may be diagnosed with occipital neuralgia, and they may not offer any type of surgery.

You may or may not need it.But if you do it would be nice to be going somewhere that offered it just in case.

Here's what some migraine sufferers need for that stubborn headache that just doesn't respond to anything else.

Surgery should be considered when the pain is chronic, severe, and does not respond to the other treatment. Always ask about the pros, and cons before you have this.

The two types of surgeries that are offered.

The microvascular decompression involves microsurgical exposure of the affected nerves, identification of blood vessels that might be compressing the nerves, and gentle displacement of these away from the point of compression.

"Decompression" will allow the nerves to recover, and return to a more normal, painless condition.

The next surgery offered for occipital neuralgia is the nerve stimulation.

The neurostimulator delivers electrical impulses through insulated lead wires tunneled under the skin near the occipital nerves at the base of the head.

The electrical impulses can help block pain messages to the brain.

This is a minimally invasive procedure, and the nerves, and other surrounding structures are not permanently damaged.

If you have this type of headache go by these symptoms above, and let your doctor in on it if he/she is just telling you that you are just having migraines.Get diagnosed right

Wishing all the best

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