Even though occipital neuralgia is not a life-threatening condition, it can have a serious impact on your overall quality of life. It can cause pain that interferes with daily activities and may prevent you from enjoying time with family or friends.
You can often find relief from the pain caused by occipital neuralgia through various treatments. When conservative treatments fail to bring the necessary relief, occipital nerve decompression surgery performed by a peripheral nerve surgeon can help.
Treating Occipital Neuralgia
Occipital neuralgia can occur if there is a pinched or damaged occipital nerve that runs from the neck to the base of the skull. It can result in a chronic, intense headache that makes it difficult to do daily activities. While the pain from occipital neuralgia is similar to that of a migraine, the condition itself is more serious since it is nerve related.
In order to effectively treat occipital neuralgia, the source of the pain needs to be determined. To diagnose the condition and determine if a compressed occipital nerve is the cause of the pain, a nerve block may be done. If the nerve block temporarily provides relief from the pain, it can confirm the diagnosis of occipital neuralgia.
When conservative treatments such as medication do not provide relief, nerve decompression surgery can be done to release the occipital nerves from muscles or surrounding tissue that are compressing the nerves. This surgery is done as an outpatient procedure and you will be able to go home the same day.
After the occipital release procedure, you may have restrictions to follow for several weeks. These include no heavy lifting or driving a vehicle. You may also feel tired and may need to take pain medication. Headaches from occipital neuralgia should be reduced after the first two weeks but numbness and tingling may be present until the nerves recover from the prior compressed condition.
Find Relief From Occipital Neuralgia
If you have occipital neuralgia and are looking for pain relief options, contact Dr. Williams to discuss if surgery may be the right choice for you. To schedule an appointment in the Baltimore office, call us at (410)709-3868 or fill out our contact form online.
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