![]() To schedule an appointment in the Baltimore office, call us at (410)709-3868 or fill out our contact form online. Williams to discuss if surgery may be the right choice for you. If you have occipital neuralgia and are looking for pain relief options, contact Dr. Headaches from occipital neuralgia should be reduced after the first two weeks but numbness and tingling may be present until the nerves recover from the prior compressed condition. You may also feel tired and may need to take pain medication. These include no heavy lifting or driving a vehicle. This surgery is done as an outpatient procedure and you will be able to go home the same day.Īfter the occipital release procedure, you may have restrictions to follow for several weeks. When conservative treatments such as medication do not provide relief, nerve decompression surgery can be done to release the occipital nerves from muscles or surrounding tissue that are compressing the nerves. If the nerve block temporarily provides relief from the pain, it can confirm the diagnosis of occipital neuralgia. To diagnose the condition and determine if a compressed occipital nerve is the cause of the pain, a nerve block may be done. In order to effectively treat occipital neuralgia, the source of the pain needs to be determined. While the pain from occipital neuralgia is similar to that of a migraine, the condition itself is more serious since it is nerve related. It can result in a chronic, intense headache that makes it difficult to do daily activities. Occipital neuralgia can occur if there is a pinched or damaged occipital nerve that runs from the neck to the base of the skull. When conservative treatments fail to bring the necessary relief, occipital nerve decompression surgery performed by a peripheral nerve surgeon can help. You can often find relief from the pain caused by occipital neuralgia through various treatments. Head and Neck Cancer: Symptoms and Signs Swelling or a sore that does not heal this is the most common symptom Red or white patch in the mouth Lump, bump. It can cause pain that interferes with daily activities and may prevent you from enjoying time with family or friends. Using heat or massage to soothe tight neck muscles can help as well.Even though occipital neuralgia is not a life-threatening condition, it can have a serious impact on your overall quality of life. Taking oral anti-inflammatory medicines is the first step to treating occipital neuralgia. “If the pain disappears after we numb the occipital nerve, then we can be confident that occipital neuralgia is causing the headache,” Dr. Doctors can sometimes reproduce the pain by pressing on occipital nerves at the base of the skull. “If the pain starts in the neck and radiates up the head to the eyebrows, that’s typical occipital neuralgia,” Dr. Pain specialists can identify occipital neuralgia through one or more of these methods: Occipital neuralgia, on the other hand, does not typically have either of those characteristics. They can be accompanied by visual disturbances and other symptoms that precede the headaches. When the pain in the nape is strong with minimal contractions, giving back to the lower jaw and ear, it can speak and neurological diseases. Migraines tend to have identifiable triggers, Dr. If the pain increases during movement and spreads around the back of the head, this indicates a pathology of the cervical spine, to which insufficient physical activity leads. ![]() “Sometimes we don’t know what causes it.”Īdvertising Policy The difference between occipital neuralgia and migraine “Nerves can become entrapped due to muscle spasms or head or neck trauma, such as whiplash,” says pain management specialist Shrif Costandi, MD. Occipital neuralgia is due to compressed or irritated nerves that run from the neck, up the back of the head to the scalp. Migraines are related to changes in the brain. Occipital neuralgia and migraines require different treatments because their sources of pain are different.
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