Could Your Chronic Headaches Be Caused by Occipital Nerve Pain? Treatment Options Explained

Is there anything worse than a debilitating headache?

When poorly timed, a bad headache can derail your day and cripple your ability to basically function.

And damn do they hurt.

If you experience recurring headaches, there’s a chance they could be caused by what’s called occipital nerve pain. When you identify the cause, you can begin to treat your pain.

Read this before you let another headache destroy your day.

What are occipital nerves?

How does feeling move from the base of your skull to the top of your scalp? Occipital nerves. This group of sensory nerves, when irritated, send a shooting pain to your head that we call occipital neuralgia, a condition resulting from muscle tightness, injury, or underlying conditions like arthritis.

There are three pairs of nerves that make up the occipital nerves: greater (largest), lesser (sides), and third (lowest).

What occipital nerve headaches feel like

Occipital nerve headaches can be extremely painful – often described as a sharp, stabbing pain resembling an electric shock. They are often brought on by mild neck movements and light touch, and mainly felt at the base of the skull, in the scalp, behind the eyes, and behind the ears.

Often confused with migraines, occipital headaches feature repeated intense jolts of pain with continuous background pain between zaps (and are not accompanied by nausea and light sensitivity like migraines). Those experiencing these headaches often become hypersensitive to even light touch, making routine activities like washing your hair or lying on a pillow simply unbearable – or even pain-triggering.

Step-by-step treatment plan

Given the fact that dorsal root ganglion stimulation is a last-resort option – and given its Occipital nerve treatment is not one single procedure. Rather, it’s a progression of care options your doctor can move you through based on your body’s response to each step.

1) Conservative care

The first line of treatment – and the least invasive – is where we begin, especially if we haven’t clearly and accurately determined the diagnosis.

Here, we might try anti-inflammatory medications or muscle relaxants. These often lead to temporary relief, but are not necessarily a lasting fix. Heat and ice therapy is an at-home treatment patients can try if the symptoms return. Physical therapy is a more structured option where a professional can work on a patient’s neck posture and cervical mobility.

More holistically, we can evaluate a patient’s daily activities and ergonomic systems. If you work a desk job, what does your setup look like? What kind of a pillow do you use? Are you constantly looking down at your phone or up at your television? Any of these lifestyle habits could impact your condition.

2) Diagnostic occipital nerve block

To properly diagnose your issue, a doctor may issue a small injection targeting the occipital nerves at the base of the skull. This injection consists of a numbing medication, and sometimes an anti-inflammatory, or steroid.

By administering this test, a particular nerve is shut off with the goal of identifying the pain source. In just a few minutes, we can confirm the involvement of the targeted nerve and solidify our hypothesis so we’re no longer guessing and can begin to treat the issue.

3) Therapeutic occipital nerve block

Once the pain source is identified, another injection can be applied, but this time for symptom control. Here, we aim for pain relief that lasts as long as possible. Many patients experience days or weeks of relief. Depending on the level of inflammation, repeat injections may be required.

4) Radiofrequency ablation

When the nerve block injections help to relieve pain, but only temporarily, we may move on to what’s referred to as RFA.

Radiofrequency ablation is an elevated procedure that employs energy rather than an injected medication. A combination of electrical current and heat work to selectively destroy troublesome tissue with the goal of limiting the nerve’s ability to transmit pain signals.

5) Occipital nerve stimulation

As the last line of defence in the typical treatment pathway, this advanced care option involves installing a small electrical device inside the body. The implant doesn’t block the nerves – it redirects them. Mild electrical stimulation changes how your pain signals are processed, hopefully delivering long-term significant pain relief for chronic pain patients.

How Hudson Pain and Spine can help

Folks in the Englewood, New Jersey area with chronic pain should contact Hudson Pain and Spine. Dr. Saurabh Dang, a double board-certified pain management specialist and an expert in occipital nerve treatment. He can help determine the best treatment plan for you.

If your pain lasts more than two weeks, includes radiating pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness, and limits your ability to work, sleep, or do normal activities, contact Hudson Pain and Spine to schedule a consultation.

Hudson Pain and Spine 25 Rockwood Place, Suite 335, Englewood, NJ 07631 Phone: (201) 605-9000