How to treat occipital neuralgia at home

To say these two simple stretches are tried and tested is an understatement. They work for us and are easy to follow.

What is occipital neuralgia?

Very often, occipital neuralgia can be confused with a headache since its symptoms overlap. However, if you have occipital neuralgia, you will feel a headache that can start suddenly, causing pain in the upper neck and very often at the back of your head and base of your skull.

Though rare, nearly everyone has been affected by occipital neuralgia (ON). The World Health Organization (WHO) cites occipital neuralgia as having a disease-specific incidence rate of 3.2 per 100000 people each year. Moreover, this condition affects more women than men.

Although occipital neuralgia is not usually linked with any severe health condition, it requires treatment if you experience significant pain.  We must stress how important it is to us at backpainsleep that we perform the above exercises at least once daily. We’ve learned the hard way that treating occipital neuralgia at home with a few half-hearted attempts won’t work. Sticking with it is key.

What causes occipital neuralgia?

You have two occipital nerves running on either side of your head responsible for transmitting sensations in the back and the top of your head to the brain. Whenever your occipital nerves become injured or are pinched, you experience pain (occipital neuralgia).

You may not always pinpoint why it happens. However, some things have been blamed for causing occipital nerve damage;

• Tight-tense muscles in the neck on the back of the end
• Back problems
• Injuries in the neck area
• Blood vessel inflammation
• Repetitive neck strain (get off your phone!)
• Physical stress

How do you recognize occipital neuralgia?

It is challenging to differentiate occipital neuralgia from other types of headaches. However, it differs from other headaches: cause, areas of pain, and the pain type.

Unlike tension headaches, occipital neuralgia episodes feel more like intermittent piercing, shooting, or shock-like pain lasting for a few seconds, several minutes or longer.

Occipital neuralgia pain can be triggered quickly with a simple touch, poor posture or by simply sleeping awkwardly on your neck. You will feel the pain spreading from where the neck meets the skull affecting the top of your neck.

At times, you will experience pain at the back of your head, behind the ears, side of your head, or the eye on the affected side of your head.

What are the occipital neuralgia home remedies?

If you are at home, there are a few things you can do to reduce pain. The first thing we always try for relief is a session with our most trusted occipital neuralgia massager. You easily adjust this massager to hit your pain points.

Perform occipital neuralgia neck massage

Investing in a cervical pillow and a neck massager is ideal, but what if you can’t? You can try a solo massage on your neck and jaw muscles with your hands, that should be done very softly and carefully. This will aid in the relaxation of tense muscles and the release of tension.

If a simple massage with your own hands doesn’t cut the pain, you can ask your partner (if available, of course) for a simple neck massage. 

Try lying on your back on a rolled towel put under your head and neck to put light pressure on the pain. The pressure on the towel provides a gentle massage.

Practising occipital neuralgia meditation exercises

Mindful meditation has been linked to a measurable decrease in the intensity of pain. Meditation exercises incorporate both mind and body approaches to healing, relaxation, and fully understanding your pain.

Meditation may change your perception of pain, making it less intense. A study by the University of Carolina found that if you practice three 20 minutes sessions of mindful meditation, you experience less pain. You can have regular occipital neuralgia meditation sessions in a day to ease your pain.

Practice occipital neuralgia yoga poses.

There are occipital neuralgia yoga exercises you can perform to help your pain while at home. It may be worth trying these yoga poses;

• Sub-occipital neck stretch 
• Neck rotation
• Neck extension and flexion

Schedule regular yoga exercises to keep your muscles stretched to avoid these neck pains… prevention is always better.

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