Pain behind the head can be caused by a lot of things like muscle tension, migraine, neck problems and irritated nerves. When the discomfort is sharp, burning or very sensitive around the scalp a healthcare professional will try to figure out if occipital neuralgia's part of the problem. It is really important to know what is causing the pain because different conditions need to be treated
Reviewing Your Symptoms
The doctor will usually start by asking you a lot of questions about your pain. They want to know where the pain starts, where it goes how long it lasts and what makes it better or worse. It can also be helpful to talk about things like if your scalp's tender if it hurts when you touch the back of your head or if the pain moves towards your forehead or behind your eyes.
Neurological Examination
The doctor will also do an exam to see if there are any areas that are tender or tight around your neck and scalp. They might press on the nerves in the back of your head to see if that makes your pain worse. They will also do an exam to check how you feel things, how strong you are and your reflexes to see if there is something else that could be causing your pain.
Considering Conditions
There are a lot of conditions that can cause headaches and neck pain so the doctor might think about other possibilities before they can say what is wrong. Depending on what your symptomsre what your medical history is they might want to do some imaging tests, like an MRI or CT scan to look for problems with the structure of your head or neck or to see if there is any inflammation.
Using Diagnostic Nerve Blocks
Sometimes the healthcare professional might use a medicine to numb the nerve that is hurting. If the pain gets better after that it can help them figure out what is going on.. They need to look at the results of the test along with everything else they have learned about you.
When to Seek Medical Advice
If you have pain behind your head that will not go away. That is getting worse or if you do not know what is causing it you should go see a doctor. You should get help right away if you have a very bad headache suddenly or if you have new symptoms that are affecting your nerves or if you are confused or if you faint or if you have a fever and a stiff neck or if you have symptoms after you hurt your head really badly.
Understanding what the doctor is going to do can make it easier for you to talk about your symptoms and to decide what to do with your healthcare provider and with the occipital neuralgia and the pain, behind the head.
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