Pain in the back of the head on the left can be caused by a number of different reasons. It is worth noting that headache itself is one of the most common symptoms in various diseases, which is one of the ten most popular reasons for issuing a sick leave. Although this symptom seems quite common and standard to many, it is a very unpleasant pain that can vary in intensity and strength, and causes.
Features of pain
Pain in the back of the head on the left, like any other headache, can be scientifically called cephalgia. There are two types of it - primary and secondary. Primary headache has nothing to do with other diseases, this situation occurs in 90-95 percent of cases. The secondary is provoked by one reason or another. It is worth noting, however, that only two to four percent of headaches becomea sign of a serious illness of the body, when there is a threat to human life.
Popular types of primary pain include migraine, mostly unilateral, and bilateral tension-type headache. At the same time, almost all parts of the head can be subject to unpleasant sensations - temporal, frontal, parietal, occipital.
Left occipital lobe
In this article, we will figure out what causes pain in the back of the head on the left. Among the various types and variations, this type of pain is considered the leader in terms of negative sensations and the scale of discomfort caused, although it cannot be called the most popular.
At the same time, pain in the back of the head on the left is very insidious, since it is often impossible to distinguish them from unpleasant sensations in the neck or the back of the head. In most cases, such pain manifestations appear when turning or slightly tilting the head.
Types of pain
Specialists distinguish between several types of headache on the left side of the head. Let's divide them into conditional four categories.
- Acute and sharp pain in the back of the head on the left, as a rule, occurs in this place due to strong negative emotions, depression, sudden frustration. In a situation where some kind of misfortune or trouble falls upon a person at once.
- Dull pain in the back of the head on the left is one of the most common types, causing maximum discomfort to patients. Any touch to the localization site becomes painful. These symptoms are seen in patientssuffering from osteochondrosis or arthritis.
- Aching pain inside the head in most cases due to spasms of the neck or shoulders. Often it manifests itself as a result of prolonged intellectual stress.
- Pulsating pain in the back of the head on the left is a special kind of ailment, provoked by high blood pressure. Therefore, it manifests itself in the morning.
Reasons
We note right away that there are a huge number of causes of pain in the back of the head on the left. In this article, we will analyze only the most common ones. Severe pain in this part of the head may be accompanied by damage to the nerve fibers of the cervical plexus. In this case, the sensations become so pronounced that it seems to the patient that the back of his head is on fire. This is accompanied by a state of pulsation and lumbago. Unpleasant sensations give to the lower jaw, eyes, the area located behind the ear.
In some cases, there may be a violation of the sensitivity of the skin in the affected area. The patient's hands and fingers are constantly numb, and the skin itself becomes painful and pale. At the same time, the back of the head on the left side hurts with such force that the patient becomes afraid to just move. Laughter, any head turns, sneezing, coughing increase discomfort.
In this case, the cause of pain in the back of the head on the left is the pathology of the connective tissue, spinal injury, neoplasms or infectious diseases. Diagnosis should be based on the overall clinical picture. During treatment, the irritating factor should be eliminated, as well as symptomatic therapy should be carried out. As you decreasepainful sensations, conservative treatment can be supplemented with physiotherapy exercises or massage.
Cervical osteochondrosis
This is another common cause of a headache on the left side of the back of the head. In certain cases, this condition occurs as a result of a failure of the blood circulation process in the tissues, which occurs against the background of a spasm in the vessels. The reason for this lies in changes in the structure of the cartilage of the intervertebral discs, as well as a decrease in the functionality of the channel in which the vessels and nerves themselves are located.
Currently, this disease regularly occurs in young people leading a sedentary lifestyle. They constantly experience severe pain in the back of the head on the left. Also at risk are patients with injuries and curvature of the spine, obesity, after excessive emotional and physical stress, with failures in metabolic processes.
With osteochondrosis, the patient is tormented by dull or shooting pains in the back of the head on the left, which can be given to the shoulder or arm. Also possible jumps in blood pressure, muscle weakness and decreased sensitivity, stiffness of movement, impaired coordination, double vision, hearing loss, in some cases - cervical migraine.
You can resist this pathology with the help of muscle relaxants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamins, chondroprotectors. Physiotherapy, exercise therapy, massage also have an effect.
Tension headaches
With this diagnosis, asas a rule, it is on the left that pains appear in the back of the head, since there are many nerve endings there. Pain is formed due to a malfunction in metabolic processes due to spasm of muscle fibers.
This is considered a consequence of mental or physical overload, stress. Such conditions lead to prolonged muscle tension. In this situation, people often lead a sedentary lifestyle. Pressing sensations gradually spread throughout the skull, squeezing the head like a tight headdress or a hoop.
This headache on the left side of the back of the head is not considered organic, so it is only occasionally accompanied by specific symptoms that cause anxiety. The patient's mood worsens, he immediately becomes inattentive and irritable. He is unable to concentrate on some business, and the fight against bouts of pain is effective even without the use of drugs.
It is worth adjusting your rest and work regime, including physical activity in your daily routine. It is also recommended to regularly knead the problem area with the help of therapeutic exercises or massage. As a last resort, doctors recommend drinking a course of sedatives based on natural ingredients.
Migraine
Systematic pain in the neck and back of the head on the left is characteristic of this neurological disease. Moreover, as a rule, one hemisphere is affected, and its symmetrical manifestation is extremely rare. As a result, unpleasant sensations arisein the back of the head or frontal zone, spreading to the temple, and as a result cover almost half of the skull. At its core, the pain becomes persistent, throbbing and obsessive. Migraine attacks can recur from several times a day to one or two throughout the year. It is worth noting that the more often they develop, the more the intensity of cephalalgia decreases.
There are several causes of pain in the back of the head on the left, from which the risks of such a disease are significantly increased. Among them, the following factors should be highlighted:
- rejection of he althy food in favor of fast food, convenience foods, products with harmful chemical additives;
- physical and nervous tension, regular stress;
- alcohol abuse and smoking;
- too much or too little sleep;
- taking folk remedies or pharmaceuticals, not agreed with the doctor, oral contraceptives may be to blame;
- a sharp change in climate and weather.
During a migraine, the patient experiences pain suddenly. In some cases, they may appear after the harbingers in the form of an aura. At the same time, they are accompanied by increased sensitivity to sounds, light, smells, as well as muscle weakness, dizziness, unreasonable anxiety.
During a migraine, the patient is not able to do anything until the attack weakens or passes completely. At the peak of the pain, he develops nausea. If everything ends with vomiting, the patient gets relief, after which, as a rule, falls asleep.
Migraine treatment in our time is directedsolely on attempts by any possible means to stop pain, to prevent exacerbations, and also to eliminate other symptoms. For these purposes, various medicines can be used, including physiotherapy, grandmother's recipes, reflexology methods. With age, the disease may weaken, at some point in life, seizures may stop altogether, and then return again. It is still not possible to establish the exact nature of migraine. Some believe it has a genetic basis.
Injuries
Often the causes of pain are injuries to the head or neck. In particular, this leads to a significant increase in blood pressure, violation of the integrity of the skin, as well as intracranial hemorrhage. In such a situation, the symptom appears either immediately after a blow or other mechanical impact, or after a certain time. It is worth noting that cephalalgia is characterized by a regular character.
In most cases, the localization of sensations corresponds to the place of injury. Symptoms may include nausea, dizziness, poor coordination, confusion, short-term memory loss, even fainting.
Delayed pain in the left back of the head may appear after a temporary improvement in the general condition of the patient. If necessary, he should undergo diagnostics to make sure there are no extensive bruising and bleeding.
The method of treatment of such conditions directly depends on the types of injury and the condition of the patient. If the damage is not severe, thenyou can limit yourself to bed rest, a compress that is applied to the problem area, as well as taking painkillers. In another situation, only a qualified doctor can advise you on how to proceed, understanding your specific injury.
Blood pressure
Cephalgia practically accompanies the output of blood pressure indicators beyond the physiological norm. The structural features of the human vascular network are such that they are concentrated and originate in the occipital part of the head. As a result, the patient experiences sensations of fullness of the blood channels, as well as the diameter of their lumen, which increases blood pressure on the walls themselves. This unpleasant symptomatology is characteristic not only of hypertensive patients, but also of patients with extremely low blood pressure.
In hypertension, the features and types of headaches are characterized by the following points:
- Pain is complemented by a feeling of heaviness in the head due to impaired blood outflow as a result of vasoconstriction. As a result, there are pulsating sensations that radiate to the temple, which are aggravated by sneezing, coughing, head movements.
- Pain increases with muscle tension, complemented by dizziness and nausea. The patient feels as if the base of the skull is compressed on both sides, or on one side only. Such conditions are usually formed as a result of stress caused by spasms of the blood channels.
- Against the background of changes in blood pressure, cerebrospinal fluid pain can form. They intensify withphysical activity.
- Dull or aching cephalalgia occurs due to spasm in the arteries. This state is complemented by disorientation, dizziness, nausea.
- Neuralgic pains come on suddenly and are extremely intense. They give to almost all parts of the skull, as well as to the upper back and neck. Appear as a result of increased intracranial pressure, stress, compression of the trigeminal nerve.
Pulsating pain in the occipital region on the left is also characteristic of hypotension. With a decrease in vascular tone, blood begins to flow into the cranium. At the same time, painful sensations appear in the back of the head, which are given to the temporal and parietal regions. This type of pain manifests itself in the morning, gradually disappearing during the day, due to the physical activity of a person. In a horizontal position of the body, discomfort and discomfort intensify, as well as with tension in the neck muscles and tilting the head forward.
Vascular diseases
Pathological processes that develop in the vessels of the back of the head and neck provoke circulatory disorders. They are accompanied by a headache. Alarming signs appear already at the initial stages of vascular diseases, intensifying under the influence of external factors. Including excessive exercise, sleep deprivation, weather changes, alcohol abuse and smoking.
When the left side of the back of the head hurts a lot, it is often associated with vascular problems. At the same time, it is not recommended to start taking antibiotics uncontrollably. To relieve symptoms, somecases, it is sufficient to normalize the emotional background, and in the case of a diagnosis of hypertension, to lower blood pressure. In this case, airing the room, foot baths, taking medications as prescribed by a doctor help.
In reviews of pain in the left side of the back of the head, patients who have repeatedly encountered such an ailment note that the fight should begin with identifying the causes of the disease. There are quite a lot of diagnostic methods today - a patient interview and examination, urine and blood tests, CT, MRI, ultrasound of the vessels of the neck and brain, as well as X-ray EEG.
Only after making an accurate diagnosis, the doctor can develop a detailed treatment regimen that will be aimed at eliminating the main provoking factor and accompanying symptoms. The patient must understand that migraine medications will not help with hypertension, so do not self-medicate, as you still will not be able to make a diagnosis.
If the pain occurs one-time, it is recommended to go for a walk or ventilate the room, if possible, sleep or relax, do light exercises for the neck or massage the collar area. It is also recommended to drink mint-based tea, which effectively soothes, you can add lemon balm, motherwort, valerian to it. Healers advise putting a cloth soaked in cabbage juice on the affected area, and also massage the whiskey with essential oils of mint, lemon, and orange.
