Occipital Neuralgia: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatments, and More
Treatment depends on what is causing the inflammation or irritation of the occipital nerves. The first course of action is to relieve pain. There are a number of things you can try to get relief, including:
If these self-care measures don't work, your doctor may prescribe the following medications to treat occipital neuralgia pain:
Surgery is rare, but may be considered if pain does not respond to other treatments or comes back. Surgery may include:
Occipital neuralgia is not a life-threatening condition. Most people get significant pain relief by resting and taking medication. However, if you do not get relief and continue to experience neck and head discomfort, tell your doctor. There may be another reason for your pain that should be considered.
Occipital Neuralgia
In this article
- Symptoms of Occipital Neuralgia
- Causes of Occipital Neuralgia
- Diagnosing Occipital Neuralgia
- Treatments for Occipital Neuralgia
Treatments for Occipital Neuralgia
Treatment depends on what is causing the inflammation or irritation of the occipital nerves. The first course of action is to relieve pain. There are a number of things you can try to get relief, including:
- Apply heat to the neck.
- Rest in a quiet room.
- Massage tight and painful neck muscles.
- Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, like naproxen (such as Aleve) or ibuprofen (such as Motrin).
If these self-care measures don't work, your doctor may prescribe the following medications to treat occipital neuralgia pain:
- Prescription muscle relaxants
- Anticonvulsant drugs, such as Tegretol (carbamazepine) and Neurontin (gabapentin)
- Antidepressants
- Short-term use of local nerve blocks and steroid injections; it may take 2-3 injections over several weeks to get control of your pain. It is not uncommon for the pain to return at some point and to need a repeat series of injections.
Surgery is rare, but may be considered if pain does not respond to other treatments or comes back. Surgery may include:
- Microvascular decompression. During this procedure, your doctor may be able to relieve pain by identifying and adjusting blood vessels that may be compressing the nerve.
- Occipital nerve stimulation. In this procedure, a neurostimulator is used to deliver electrical impulses to the occipital nerves. These electrical impulses can help block pain messages to the brain.
Occipital neuralgia is not a life-threatening condition. Most people get significant pain relief by resting and taking medication. However, if you do not get relief and continue to experience neck and head discomfort, tell your doctor. There may be another reason for your pain that should be considered.
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