What is Occipital Neuralgia? How can massage help?
Occipital Neuralgia is when your occipital nerves (back of the head where your skull meets the neck) are inflamed. This can be due to injury, muscle tightness or other inflammation present in you body. Massage can be an effective way to relieve symptoms of occipital neuralgia, especially if from tight muscles. If your neck muscles are tight, then may cause entrapment of you nerve. During a massage session, your massage therapist will focus on these trigger points to help release any entrapment.
Occipital neuralgia causes may include:
Injury after car accident
Whiplash
Overly tight neck muscles
Compressed nerves in the neck, due to osteoarthritis or other conditions
Tumors
Gout
Diabetes
Vasculitis, or blood vessel inflammation
Overuse injuries caused by keeping the head in a down or forward position
Occipital neuralgia symptoms include:
Chronic headaches
Pain behind the eye, on one side of the head
Blurry vision
Dental pain
Dizziness
Vertigo
Migraine symptoms
Sensitivity to light
Scalp tenderness
Pain and tight muscles when moving the neck
For more information, please check out the links below. If symptoms are severe, please contact your doctor.