Pain in the back of the head can occur for various reasons, and most of them have serious consequences. Many people believe that it is enough to take a pain pill and forget about the pain for a while, but this does not solve the problem. Over time, addiction to the drug occurs, and after a few such methods, it no longer helps. Pain can not only cause a lot of trouble, but also indicate a serious pathology.
Causes of headaches
A sharp pain in the back of the head never occurs without a reason, it is often associated with disorders of the vascular system or problems with the spine. It is important to pay attention to exactly where the pain originated, because this also affects the features of the phenomenon.
When pain occurs infrequently, it may indicate that the person has been in an uncomfortable position for a long time or experienced stress. Such pains are the most harmless, but in all other cases they need to be paid attention to.
Cervical osteochondrosis
When a person is diagnosed with cervical osteochondrosis, a dull pain in the back of the head is the main symptom. The fact is that this disease is characterized by destruction of the intervertebral discs in the cervical region. Pain, as a rule, appears constantly and can cover not only the back of the head, but also give to the temples and forehead. At the slightest tilt of the head, a person may feel how the pain begins to increase.
If cervical osteochondrosis has an advanced form, then in addition a person may feel tinnitus, hearing loss, sometimes vomiting opens. The patient may complain of blurred vision and double vision, and if he sharply throws his head back, dizziness appears. Such pains in the back of the head are commonly called cervical migraines.
Cervical spondylosis
Cervical spondylosis is a serious disease that is accompanied by degeneration of the connective tissue of the vertebral ligaments, it begins to coarsen. As a result of such pathological changes, bone growths appear that make it difficult to move the neck. Such pain very quickly spreads from the back of the head to the eyes, temples and ears. After a while, the person may feel pain even at rest, and it becomes permanent.
Additional symptoms will be sleep disturbances and a desire to change your working position more often. Older people are more at risk, but young people have also recently suffered, who have to spend a lot of time forcomputer.
Hypertension
The fact that a person may develop a disease such as high blood pressure may be indicated by constant severe pain in the back of the head. With a hypertensive attack, the pain becomes bursting and pulsating. It intensifies if a person tilts his head. Vomiting may occur suddenly, general weakness is observed. Most often, the peak of severe pain is noted the next morning, when a person just wakes up. In this case, it is recommended to take antihypertensive drugs as soon as possible. When the pressure rises, the heart begins to beat much stronger, and the patient is advised to be at rest until the hypertensive crisis passes. The right decision would be to call a doctor.
Cervical myositis and myogelosis
Many people complain of pain in the back of the head on the left with cervical myositis. The fact is that the cause of this disease is inflammation of the muscles of the neck. Naturally, such pains are temporary, it happens due to hypothermia, injury, or even an uncomfortable position. Pain begins to be felt when moving the neck, it is especially difficult to turn it to the left side. In addition to the head, pain covers the interscapular and shoulder regions.
Another similar disease with the same symptoms is myogelosis. a disease occurs due to circulatory disorders in the vertebrae, which over time provokes seals in the cervical region.
Neuralgia of the nerve in the back of the head
When there is pain in the back of the head, the causes may be hiding in the inflammatoryoccipital nerve process. Severe hypothermia can cause various types of neuralgia. The pain can be severe, shooting, and even burning. In addition to the fact that it covers the entire back of the head, this unpleasant symptom can gradually be felt in the jaw and ears.
At the slightest change in the position of the head, a person coughs and the pain syndrome intensifies. The pain comes in attacks, but each time they can manifest themselves more often and become stronger. If neuralgia is not treated, then over time, excessive sensitivity of the skin in the back of the head will develop.
Vascular disorders
If spasms of the arteries occur, then there are instantly throbbing pains in the back of the head. At this time, a person feels a general weakness with every movement. The correct decision of the patient is to lie down and try to move as little as possible until the pain finally subsides. Its main cause is considered to be a slow outflow of venous blood. The symptom begins in the back of the head and can gradually move to the entire region of the head. The pain gets worse if the person starts to cough or tilt their head forward. Vascular disorders can be recognized not only by pain, a person should pay attention to the fact that for a long time in the morning the eyelids will swell.
Pain during exercise
Suffer from a headache can not only adults but also children. Experts say that pain in the back of the head in a child can occur with excessive activity, due tooverexcitation or under great physical exertion. The cause of the pathology is hidden in fragile vessels and their narrow lumen. In adults, pain occurs during hard physical labor, when exercises are performed with a greater load than the human body can withstand. In the back of the head, the patient may feel heaviness, tingling, and goosebumps begin to run all over the scalp. The only treatment in this case will be control so that the child does not get overexcited, and for adults it is necessary to reduce physical activity to an acceptable level.
Other causes of headaches
If there is pain in the back of the head, the reasons may be as follows:
- Sometimes people may experience sharp and fleeting pain during intercourse. This is due to the fact that the peak of pleasure is accompanied in parallel by an increase in pressure. But this is typical for people who suffer from vegetative-vascular dystonia.
- There is such a thing as occupational pain, they are a consequence of work, when the neck muscles are constantly tense. People of different professions can suffer from the disease, for example, seamstresses, jewelers and programmers.
- A malocclusion can provoke pain. The symptom occurs not only in the back of the head, but also spreads to different areas of the entire head. This pain in the back of the head is constant. It starts in the morning and intensifies towards evening.
- Emerging strongThe pain may be due to stress. Such conditions are typical for women, they can last for a certain period, and normalize when the psychological background returns to normal.
Reduce negative feelings by rubbing the back of the head or massage.
In any case, to make sure that there is no cause for concern, you need to seek help from a doctor who will prescribe a diagnosis and, based on the results, select a treatment.
What to do with severe pain in the back of the head?
Treatment of pain in the back of the head should begin after the exact cause of its occurrence has been established. With frequent symptoms, you should immediately go to a therapist who will conduct an initial diagnosis and send the patient to a narrower specialist. The diagnosis of arterial hypertension should be especially carefully considered, most often in such cases the patient needs immediate hospitalization.
When pain is not associated with pathology, then it is quite possible to use the following procedures:
- Exercise therapy is a great way to help. It is important to relax the muscles of the neck and ligaments, this will improve the movement of blood through the veins and vessels. An experienced doctor can easily develop an effective set of exercises.
- You can contact a qualified massage therapist who will massage a specific muscle group and relieve pain in a few sessions. But before agreeing to a massage, it is necessary to consult a doctor, since in some cases this type of effect on the human body is strictly prohibited.
- Recently, the method of acupuncture is considered effective. This method of treating pain in the back of the head will help with neuralgia. The fact is that with the help of a point effect on certain zones, it is possible to achieve a complete recovery.
- Physiotherapeutic treatment is carried out using the influence of ultrasound and electrophoresis.
Which method to choose, the doctor will be able to tell, since not everyone is suitable for different types of pain in the back of the head.
Medicated treatment
At home, you can perform the following manipulations:
- First of all, it is recommended that the patient measure the pressure, since most often pain in the back of the head occurs due to an increase in its indicators.
- The patient must be kept calm and laid with a slightly raised head in bed.
- The room where the person lies should be provided with free access to fresh air.
- To calm the pain, it is recommended to take drugs such as Adelfan, Enap or Baralgin.
- If the pressure measuring device shows that it is increased, then a hot heating pad is placed under the feet of a sick person, and ice is applied to the back of the head.
- As an added relief, you can do a light massage of the back of the head.
For chronic pain, you should consult a doctor who will select the right treatment and help you recover quickly.
Folk methodstreatment
Traditional medicine can only be effective if severe pain in the back of the head is associated with stress or fatigue. The following methods are considered the most effective:
- Making mint tea. It should not be weak, it is enough to put a tablespoon of mint in one cup. If you drink 1/2 liter of such a drink every half an hour, you will quickly get rid of unpleasant symptoms.
- Blackcurrant juice half a cup every day for a month will help return a person to a normal lifestyle.
- Propolis is effective. It is enough to take 20 grams and grate, then pour alcohol. Insist for a day, and then every night before going to bed, drink forty drops of the resulting composition.
- It is believed that copper coins can help relieve pain. It is enough to apply them to the sore spot for twenty minutes, and the pain will go away on its own.
No folk method can become the main method of treatment, therefore, without the help of a qualified doctor, it is unlikely to be cured.
Prevention
In order to never face such unpleasant symptoms as pain in the back of the head, you should normalize the mode of rest and wakefulness. The human body must rest, and a he althy lifestyle will help get rid of many problems. Strengthen blood vessels helps proper nutrition, taking into account all the necessary vitamins. And if a person constantly has to be in a sitting position due to the duty of his work, it is necessary to develop a set of exercises anddo them every three hours.
It is important to remember that self-medication and continuous use of painkillers without a doctor's prescription can lead to an aggravation of the general condition, and the disease will move into a more severe stage. If you break such simple rules, then there is a risk of ending up in the hospital, because in especially difficult cases, immediate hospitalization of a sick person is required.
Timely access to a qualified specialist will help get rid of many problems, speed up relief and complete recovery. It is worth noting that some diseases that cause pain in the back of the head are not treated, but thanks to the constant use of medications, negative symptoms can be avoided, and pain becomes a rare occurrence.
