There are a large number of factors that cause a headache in the back of the head and not only. Some people, having felt pain, immediately go to the doctor. But there are others who bide their time, hoping that the discomfort will disappear on its own. Yes, this also happens, but sometimes the pain returns again, and the discomfort is felt even more.
Causes of the disease
Among the causes of a headache in the back of the head, doctors distinguish the following as the most common:
- The presence of diseases of the cervical spine. In this case, the pain is prolonged. They are aggravated by a sharp movement of the head.
- Consolidation of the muscles of the neck. Most often, this is facilitated by prolonged exposure to a draft, an uncomfortable posture, nervous strain, and incorrect posture. In addition to a headache in the back of the head, there is a tingling sensation in the muscles of the neck, sometimes there is dizziness, noise in the head.
- Neuralgia of the occipital nerve. The pain is unbearable, paroxysmal. Increases with sneezing, coughing, sudden movement of the head. There may be a violation of orientation in space,throbbing in the temples.
- Injuries to the head or cervical spine.
- Pathologies of the cervical spine.
- Arterial hypertension. Most often, the pain appears in the morning hours.
Cervical osteochondrosis and spondylosis
Osteochondrosis can be called the most common disease and one of the main causes of headaches in the back of the head. That is why we will talk about this disease in more detail.
The pain syndrome that accompanies this pathology is permanent. In addition to the back of the head, pain appears in the temporal region and neck. It becomes stronger when the head is tilted.
With vertebrobasilar syndrome, along with headaches in the back of the head, tinnitus, hearing loss, vomiting, nausea, and impaired coordination of movement appear. Sometimes the patient has double vision, veil, fog, dizziness.
Often this disease is accompanied by cervical migraine. The pain appears suddenly in the left side of the back of the head and goes to the superciliary and temporal region.
With cervical spondylosis, the connective tissue of the vertebral ligaments degenerates into bone. Bone growths appear on the vertebrae. Because of this, neck mobility worsens, stiffness appears when turning the head. Pain in the back of the head is constant, spreading to the eyes and ears. They intensify during head tilts. Another symptom of this disease is sleep disturbance.
A little more about the reasons
The causes of a headache in the back of the head include the followingdiseases:
- Migraine. The pain is felt constantly. It is painful, sharp and persists for several days. Its etiology is not yet fully understood. The factors that cause it are lack of sleep, overwork, smoking, stress.
- Cervical migraine. The reason for its appearance is vasospasm. It occurs unexpectedly, almost does not respond to painkillers. If you do not see a doctor in time, tissue death may occur due to oxygen deficiency in the brain.
- Neoplasms are another cause of headaches in the back of the head. Their development may be accompanied by nausea. Discomfort in the back of the head is the result of the pressure of the neoplasm on he althy tissues.
- Stress. This reason is the most common. Women over the age of 35 are most often at risk. If a person does not get out of a stressful state, constant pain appears.
If a headache in the back of the head is associated with a disease, you should immediately consult a doctor. Don't wait for something. Everything will not end well. It is necessary to undergo an examination, find out the cause and begin treatment.
Now let's talk about the types of pain.
Temple pain
The named symptom, passing to the back of the head, is one of the varieties of headache in the back of the head. This symptom does not always indicate a serious problem. Causes of discomfort include:
- migraine;
- stress;
- changes in blood pressure (increase or decrease);
- pregnancy;
- infections;
- drinking a lot of alcohol.
With such pain, it is important to notice exactly when it appears. If this happened during a change in the weather, after a stressful situation or a holiday, then you should not worry. In this case, an anesthetic should help. You should be alarmed when pain sensations appear often, and they are strong. Here we can already talk about a hypertensive crisis, meningitis or stroke. Without wasting time, go to the doctor - this is the right decision.
To get rid of pain without drugs is possible only in a calm environment. Lie down, massage your neck, whiskey. Open a window and let fresh air into the house. The pain must go away.
One-sided pain
Unilateral headache in the back of the head may appear on the right or left. The reasons for its appearance include:
- uncomfortable sleeping position;
- long work at the computer;
- draft action.
If pain persists for more than two days, it is most likely neuritis. The reason for the appearance of the disease is long work at the computer or hypothermia of the body.
Pain sensations occur in attacks. They look like muscle leakage - this is a syndrome of the vertebral artery (right or left). A severe headache in the back of the head on the right or left may indicate irritation of the nerve sympathetic ganglia. In order to get rid of the problem, you should visit a doctor: a therapist or a neurologist.
throbbing pain
Let's talk about throbbing headacheneck pain. This symptom, if it is permanent, is a sign of a serious illness. So, if discomfort is accompanied by pain in the temples, we can say that a person has problems with blood vessels (pinching, expansion, spasms).
Sometimes infectious diseases are accompanied by neurological complications. In this case, the throbbing pain passes into the ear and lower jaw. And cervical osteochondrosis, in addition to discomfort in the back of the head, is accompanied by nausea, impaired coordination of movement, flies in the eyes.
Severe headache in the back of the head and nausea after waking up, fog before the eyes and dizziness say that, most likely, the person has vegetovascular dystonia.
In addition to the above, this symptom may indicate overwork, changes in weather conditions, excessive physical exertion.
Discomfort accompanied by nausea
Headache in the back of the head and nausea are symptoms of high blood pressure, concussion, osteochondrosis. Only the nature of the pain can determine the disease:
- High blood pressure - arching pain, aggravated by light and loud sounds. Most often, these symptoms appear in the morning hours.
- Osteochondrosis - constant pain, accompanied by blurred vision, weakness, dizziness, tinnitus.
- Concussion - in addition to throbbing pain with nausea, a person's sweating increases, breathing quickens and sleep is disturbed.
Fordisease prevention, you should be outdoors more often, try to avoid stressful situations, move more.
Mixed pain
Often there is a situation when a severe headache in the back of the head covers another part of the head. So, if it goes to the back of the head and eyes, then most often it is a symptom of migraine, meningitis or high blood pressure. Dizziness, sleep disturbance, loss of coordination, nausea are added to these signs. Unpleasant feelings are caused by bright light. You should immediately contact a specialist.
If the back of the head and ear hurt, it is important to make the correct diagnosis:
- Pulsating pain during an attack, and in the rest of the period aching or pressing in the back of the head and passing to the left ear, speaks of an inflammatory process, hypothermia, colds, osteochondrosis.
- Frequent headaches in the back of the head and congestion in the ears indicate high blood pressure. A calm environment, the use of drugs for high blood pressure will help get rid of the disease.
- Strain, drafts, otitis media can also cause headaches in the back of the head and ears.
Physical stress, high blood pressure are accompanied by painful sensations in the back of the head and forehead. Add to these symptoms weakness, nausea and dizziness.
As with other ailments, so with headaches in the back of the head, the causes and treatment are interconnected. Only by determining the cause of the disease, you can correctly prescribe the treatment.
Let's talk about kids
From pain in the back of the headnot only adults suffer, but also children. Most often, the factor that causes it is viral diseases. At the same time, the vessels begin to become inflamed, and the pain spreads all over the back of the child's head. In this case, give the baby painkillers and calming herbal tea.
Discomfort can also speak of intracranial pressure. You should definitely visit a specialist if pain in the back of the head is not a symptom of a viral disease.
Another reason for the appearance of pain in the occipital region is being in one position for a long time. Schoolchildren sit at computers and textbooks a lot. Muscles numb - this causes discomfort. Therefore, during the educational process, physical education should be done. If the child studies at home, it is desirable that he gets up from the table every hour and walks a little.
Diagnosis
It should be said right away that when a headache appears in the back of the head, you should not hesitate. See a specialist immediately. The appearance of this symptom indicates that pathological processes are taking place in the body. It is not worth getting rid of the disease on your own, this can only aggravate the cause of its occurrence.
Before prescribing treatment for a headache in the back of the head, the doctor will conduct a series of examinations. First, during a conversation with the patient, he will clarify the nature of the pain, how often they appear and how long they last, what symptoms accompany them.
The next step is a consultation with a neurologist, otolaryngologist, dentist, ophthalmologist. Sometimes thisenough. If the diagnosis cannot be made, then the following measures are taken:
- Electroencephalography. Thanks to this procedure, the state of the brain is determined.
- X-ray - detects the presence of injuries, sinusitis, hydrocephalus.
- Magnetic resonance imaging - determines the presence of a tumor, cerebrovascular accident, the consequences of a stroke and other diseases.
- Computed tomography - demonstrates changes in the structure of the brain and cerebral vessels, the presence of hemorrhages. Also, this procedure shows the presence of cysts, aneurysms, atherosclerosis, thrombosis.
- Electromyography - diagnoses diseases of the neuromuscular system, nerve damage.
- Ultrasound - reveals a variety of problems with blood vessels.
First Aid
How can you help yourself with a headache in the back of your head? The first thing to do is to create a calm environment and lie down in bed with your head slightly elevated. Provide fresh air to the room and remove irritants (these include loud noises, bright lights). If the pain is not intense, then you can take painkillers.
You should measure the pressure. If it is above the norm, put ice on the back of the head, and a hot heating pad on the legs.
When the cause of the illness is overexertion, you should drink a sedative, do a light massage of the back of the head.
With cervical osteochondrosis, tilting the head, circular movements will help.
If the condition does not improve, callambulance. As mentioned above, self-medication is life-threatening. Even traditional medicine should be used as prescribed by a doctor, not to mention pills.
Basic treatments
Which method to choose, the doctor decides:
- Drug treatment. The patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. They can be in tablets or injections, have an analgesic effect. Sometimes you can get by with just this treatment, but there are times when you can’t cope with the problem without drug blockades and hormonal drugs.
- Manual therapy. This method helps with migraines and is an additional means of getting rid of the disease.
- Massage. This method can also be discussed as an additional one. It is part of a comprehensive treatment. Usually this method is prescribed after injuries, migraines, etc.
- Physiotherapy. This method is used most often. Apply ultrasound, magnetic field, heat, direct or alternating current.
- Acupuncture. It is an addition to manual therapy and activates the work of the organs. The patient may feel relief after just two sessions.
- Osteopathy. Work is carried out with changes occurring in muscles, organs, joints. This method is assigned in combination with other methods.
- Therapeutic exercise. Small loads help to cope with pain syndrome. They are selected and calculated by a specialist.
- Extracorporeal hemocorrection. Helps to get rid of atherosclerosiscerebral vessels. The blood is cleansed of excess cholesterol and other harmful substances.
- Folk remedies. You should be careful with this method. The effectiveness of traditional medicine is not always confirmed. Please consult your doctor before using this method.
Prevention
In order not to suffer from headaches, try to adhere to the following rules:
- Sleep should be at least eight hours, and it is better to sleep on an orthopedic pillow.
- Visit a specialist periodically and check your posture.
- The cause of frequent headaches can be overweight, so it is necessary to follow a proper diet.
- Give up bad habits.
- More walk, fresh air works wonders.
- Try to rest more often.
And be sure to visit a doctor, only he can help you.
