Pain in the back of the head brings a lot of discomfort to a person, limiting his ability to work. They can arise for a variety of reasons. Their list begins with ailments of the spine in the cervical region and ends with neuralgia.
Those who do not know why he has pain in the back of his head, it is recommended to read this article. It describes the causes of this phenomenon, and the main methods of treatment. But be that as it may, if a person periodically experiences pain in the back of the head, he should not fix this problem on his own. If such a phenomenon is not of a single nature, then a doctor's consultation in this case is simply necessary.
What causes pain in the back of the head
Most likely, every person faced such an uncomfortable condition. Pain in the back of the head can be both acute and dull, both pressing and throbbing, aching, constant or episodic. Such differences are associated with the factors that served as the basis for the development of thisuncomfortable state.
But regardless of the cause, pain in the back of the head is always painful for a person, and he does his best to get rid of it as soon as possible. How to achieve the desired effect? To do this, you need to know the pathology that caused this pain. The method of treatment will depend on this.
The causes of pain in the back of the head are various ailments of the spine, as well as the cardiac and neurological systems. Let's take a closer look at them.
Cervical osteochondrosis
This pathology is associated with a change in the structure of the discs located between the vertebrae. With cervical osteochondrosis, pains are localized in the head, in the back of the head and temples. Affects unpleasant symptoms and the neck area. Very often they are accompanied by dizziness and nausea. Moreover, the pathological condition is aggravated by tilting and moving the head.
Osteochondrosis often provokes the development of vertebrobasilar syndrome. Such pains in the back of the head are accompanied by tinnitus, impaired spatial coordination, and hearing loss. Patients often complain about the appearance of a veil and doubling of the objects in question when looking at the world around them.
Accompanies such pain in the back of the head and dizziness. It sometimes seems to a person that everything in the room begins to revolve around him.
Pain in the back of the head with vertebrobasilar syndrome combined with vomiting, nausea and hiccups. If a person in this state turns his neck sharply, then he can suddenly fall andsome time to lose the ability to move. Consciousness is preserved in this case.
This type of osteochondrosis leads to the development of cervical migraine. With such a pathology, the patient complains that he has a headache in the back of his head on the right or left. Discomfort in cervical migraine extends to the temple, as well as to the superciliary zone. At the same time, the person develops tinnitus, dizziness, clouding or darkening in the eyes.
Cervical spondylosis
Such an ailment of the spine appears with a pathological change in the tissue of those ligaments that are attached to the vertebrae. The resulting bone growths worsen the mobility of the neck. Patients report stiffness during head movements. At the same time, there are pains in the back of the head, sometimes spreading to the eyes and ears. With any movement, whether it be turns or tilts, uncomfortable sensations intensify. They do not leave a person even in a stationary position. This leads to sleep disturbance.
Cervical spondylosis develops most often in the elderly, as well as in those who, when doing their work, are in a sedentary state for a long time.
Hypertension
The bursting and throbbing pain in the back of the head on the right and left often accompanies an increase in blood pressure. Such uncomfortable states come to a person already in the morning upon awakening. Such sensations are accompanied by heaviness in the head, weakness and rapid heartbeat.
Tilting the head causes more pain. This condition is relieved after vomiting, which occurs suddenlywithout any nausea.
Cervical myositis
This pathology occurs due to inflammation of the neck muscles caused by trauma, draft or being in an uncomfortable position for a long time.
The main symptom of myositis is pain in the neck and in the back of the head, as well as in the shoulder and interscapular region, where they give off with various movements. Asymmetry is also characteristic of this pathology.
Myogelosis
This disease of the spine occurs when blood circulation in the cervical region is disturbed. In the muscles located in this area, seals appear in which pain is felt. The person complains that his shoulders and neck become stiff. Pain in the back of the head and weakness become common with this pathology. Such phenomena are accompanied by dizziness.
Inflammation of the occipital nerve
This type of neuralgia is a frequent companion of not only osteochondrosis, but also other ailments of the spine. A similar condition occurs after hypothermia.
Pathology is accompanied by paroxysmal burning pains in the back of the head, which spread to the neck, ears, and sometimes to the back and lower jaw. A sharp increase in uncomfortable conditions can occur with the slightest movement, coughing and sneezing. The sensations are described by patients as shooting.
Between such attacks, a pressing dull pain in the back of the head continues to persist. The scalp becomes very sensitive when this condition is maintained for a long time.
Vascularpain
Discomfort in the back of the head sometimes occurs due to spasm of the arteries, which are located either inside the skull or on its surface. Such pains in the back of the head are pulsating in nature and sometimes reach the forehead. Strengthening of such uncomfortable sensations occurs during movement. At rest, they decrease significantly or stop altogether.
Vascular are those pains that arise in connection with a violation of the venous outflow. They are bursting and dull in nature, accompanied by a feeling of heaviness in the head. They begin in the back of the head and spread throughout the head. Their strengthening occurs in the prone position, as well as when coughing and bending over.
Vascular pain often occurs at the moment of awakening in the morning.
Due to the pathology of the vessels, pain in the back of the head often appears during physical exertion. A person begins to complain of tingling, "goosebumps" and a constant feeling of heaviness. Sometimes there is also the impression that the head is being squeezed by an imaginary rope. The nature of the pain in this case is classified as moderate. Nausea and vomiting do not occur.
Occupational pain
Often, discomfort in the back of the head occurs in those people who, based on the specifics of their work, are forced to stay in an unchanged position for a long time with tension in the neck muscles. In particular, drivers of vehicles or those who work at a computer often suffer from professional pain in the back of the head.
The nature of the discomfort is prolonged andstupid. When rubbing the back of the head and neck, as well as after moving the head, such pains are somewhat reduced.
Increased intracranial pressure
This phenomenon is accompanied by pain in the back of the head and nausea. At the same time, discomfort sensations are not necessarily localized in one zone. Sometimes they spread over the entire surface of the head.
Pain in this pathology are bursting and pressing. In addition to nausea, they are accompanied by vomiting, which does not bring relief to a person. Often, pain in the eyes also joins the pain in the back of the head. It is exacerbated by bright light, causing the patient to seek privacy in a dark room.
Overbite
Such a pathology is accompanied by frequent pains in the back of the head, in the ears, as well as in the parietal and parotid region. Thus, an anomaly of bite leads to a significant deterioration in a person's well-being.
Pain in the head - in the back of the head and temples - appear during the day and greatly increase in the evening. At the same time, they can last for several hours or torment a person for up to several days. The cause of such uncomfortable conditions will be indicated by a click in the temporomandibular joint, which is clearly audible when opening the mouth.
Stress
Pain in the back of the head sometimes occurs due to sudden critical situations, as well as with prolonged nervous tension. The nature of discomfort in this case can be very different. It is worth noting that women suffer from stress pain in the back of the head more often.
Methods of disposal
When headpain in the back of the head, which occurs more than twice a week, you will need to consult a doctor who will conduct professional diagnostics for his patient. Only based on the results of the study, the doctor can draw up an effective course of therapy that will achieve the desired result. But in any case, treatment should be comprehensive and aimed at combating the cause that caused the disease. This will alleviate the patient's condition, preventing the occurrence of possible relapses and complications.
There is an extensive list of approaches and remedies that are used to eliminate headaches in the back of the head. Among them:
- Drug therapy. During its implementation, the doctor selects drugs whose action is aimed at suppressing pathology provocateurs. These include diuretics, sedatives and antihypertensives. NSAIDs, analgesics, triptans, antibiotics, nootropics, and many other pharmacological drugs are sometimes used.
- Physiotherapy. When using it, the patient is prescribed thermal procedures, mud baths, instrumental methods of influence, acupuncture and massage.
- Surgical intervention. Sometimes, in order to save a patient from a headache in the back of the head, doctors offer him an operation. This allows you to remove neoplasms in the cranium, restore the functionality of blood vessels, and normalize ICP.
- Alternative medicine. When using these methods, pain in the back of the head is eliminated when taken orally orexternal use of natural products.
- Psychotherapy. A similar method is used in cases of obsessive-compulsive disorders, mental disorders, and stress.
Severe and frequent headaches in the back of the head cannot be ignored. And even if they do not increase and are not supplemented by other negative symptoms over a long period, seeking medical help should be mandatory.
Let's take a closer look at some of the above neck pain treatments.
Massage and manual therapy
Such procedures are prescribed to the patient if pain in the back of the head is caused by myogelosis, cervical osteochondrosis, inflammation of the nerve, and also occurs due to stress or professional activity. In the case of spondylosis, manual therapy will produce a good effect. Hard massage is contraindicated.
If a person has pain in the back of the head caused by increased ICP, then he is prescribed soft manual therapy. A light massage will also be effective enough. But with hypertension, it is categorically contraindicated.
The patient can help himself with any discomfort. To do this, he will need to apply self-massage, preheating his hands. What is the algorithm for its implementation? First you need to lightly massage the ears. After that, you can move on to the surface of the head. It is massaged with rotational movements using the fingertips. Start such a massage from the back of the head. The procedure ends in the same zone.
During the eventsuch a massage should be borne in mind: the hands must be positioned in such a way that the palms constantly touch the ears. In most cases, such manipulations will lead, if not to disappearance, then to significant pain relief.
Shiatsu also has a wonderful effect. This is a Japanese acupressure massage, which should only be performed by a specialist.
Physiotherapy
Magnetic therapy and electrophoresis, ultrasound, laser, etc. have an excellent therapeutic effect on pain in the back of the head. Physiotherapy is prescribed for cervical osteochondrosis and spondylosis, myogelosis and nerve neuralgia, increased intracranial pressure, as well as for vascular and occupational discomfort that torments a person.
Therapeutic exercise
The exercises included in the complex prescribed by doctors can help with almost all pathologies that cause pain in the back of the head. The only exception is malocclusion. In this case, the patient should seek help from an orthodontist.
A set of exercises that must be performed for a specific disease is taught by an exercise therapy doctor. Self-elimination of a headache in the back of the head is possible with the following movements:
- Tilt your head forward with slight tension while sitting on a chair. In this position, you need to stay for 20 seconds. Straighten your head, rest for 20-30 seconds. After that, the movement is repeated 15-16 times.
- Sitting or standing raise your hands up. Place the thumbs on the upper borders of the cheekbones, and put the rest on the back of the head. During inhalationthe head should be thrown back, resisting such a movement with the help of fingers. The gaze should be directed upwards. It takes 10 seconds to be in this position. After that, you should exhale and lower your head as low as possible. Direct your gaze there. Reps should be from 3 to 6.
- Set two thumbs on a painful point located in the lower region of the occiput between the cervical vertebra and the edge of the skull. Perform fifteen rotational movements in a clockwise direction. Involved in this should be the fingertips. Then one and a half minutes on the painful point should simply be suppressed. After a 2-minute rest, the exercise is repeated. 3 to 6 repetitions recommended.
Folk methods
For minor neck pain, alternative medicine recommends:
- Ventilate and then darken the room where the person suffering from discomfort is located. It is important that the air in this room is humid, which can be achieved with a special device or hanging a wet cloth on the radiators of the heating system.
- Exclude any loud noises.
- Apply a hot compress to the back of the head while drinking a glass of tea or hot water at the same time.
- For some tormenting conditions, a cold compress or massage of the disturbing area with an ice cube is effective.
- Exclude smoking, as well as drinking alcohol, which also provokes pain in the back of the head.
- Rubber your palms well. When they are warm, applythe right one on the back of the head, and the left one on the forehead. Sit in this position for a few minutes.
Judging by the reviews of many people, a compress from a cabbage leaf previously kneaded in the hands effectively helps with headaches in the back of the head. Put it on the head in the area of discomfort. You can also drink a cup of tea brewed from a healing herb called high primrose, or from lime blossom. For a drink, you can take a mixture of plants such as sage, peppermint and meadowsweet.
