Occipital Neuralgia Quiz
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Reviewed By:
Benjamin Kummer, MD (Neurology)
Dr Kummer is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), with joint appointment in Digital and Technology Partners (DTP) at the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) as Director of Clinical Informatics in Neurology. As a triple-board certified practicing stroke neurologist and informaticist, he has successfully improved clinical operations at the point of care by acting as a central liaison between clinical neurology faculty and DTP teams to implement targeted EHR configuration changes and workflows, as well as providing subject matter expertise on health information technology projects across MSHS. | Dr Kummer also has several years’ experience building and implementing several informatics tools, presenting scientific posters, and generating a body of peer-reviewed work in “clinical neuro-informatics” – i.e., the intersection of clinical neurology, digital health, and informatics – much of which is centered on digital/tele-health, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He has spearheaded the Clinical Neuro-Informatics Center in the Department of Neurology at ISMMS, a new research institute that seeks to establish the field of clinical neuro-informatics and disseminate knowledge to the neurological community on the effects and benefits of clinical informatics tools at the point of care.
Shohei Harase, MD (Neurology)
Dr. Harase spent his junior and senior high school years in Finland and the U.S. After graduating from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology), he worked for Apple Japan Inc. before entering the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, where he received the Best Resident Award in 2016 and 2017. In 2021, he joined the Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, specializing in hyperacute stroke.
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Learn more about Occipital neuralgia
Content updated on Nov 7, 2023
What is occipital neuralgia?
Occipital neuralgia is a rare type of headache characterized by intense, brief, throbbing, electric-shock-like pain in the back of the head or behind the ears. It can occur on one or both sides of the head, and is thought to result from pinching of a nerve by scalp or neck muscles, neck injury, as well as neck or skull base surgery.
Symptoms of occipital neuralgia
Headache
Headache affecting one side of my head
Pain over the back of my head
Tingling or prickling sensation of the skin
Pain over the temples
Pain in the whole head and neck
Throbbing headache
Ear pain
Questions your doctor may ask to check for occipital neuralgia
Your doctor may ask these questions to diagnose occipital neuralgia
Do you have headaches or does your head feel heavy?
Do you have pain on only one side of you head?
Do you have pain behind your head?
Do you feel tingling without your skin being touched?
Do you have pain around your temples?
Treatment for occipital neuralgia
Treatment options include injecting numbing and inflammation-reducing medications in the area of the nerve (occipital nerve block), medications to reduce nerve pain, as well as rest/neck immobilization, applying heat/ice to the neck, or massage.
View the symptoms of Occipital neuralgia
Diseases related to Occipital neuralgia
References
Pan W, Peng J, Elmofty D. Occipital Neuralgia. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2021 Jul 21;25(9):61. doi: 10.1007/s11916-021-00972-1. PMID: 34287719.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11916-021-00972-1
Barmherzig R, Kingston W. Occipital Neuralgia and Cervicogenic Headache: Diagnosis and Management. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2019 Mar 19;19(5):20. doi: 10.1007/s11910-019-0937-8. PMID: 30888540.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-019-0937-8
Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS) The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia. 2018 Jan;38(1):1-211. doi: 10.1177/0333102417738202. PMID: 29368949.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0333102417738202
Choi I, Jeon SR. Neuralgias of the Head: Occipital Neuralgia. J Korean Med Sci. 2016 Apr;31(4):479-88. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.4.479. Epub 2016 Mar 9. PMID: 27051229; PMCID: PMC4810328.
https://jkms.org/DOIx.php?id=10.3346/jkms.2016.31.4.479
Dougherty C. Occipital neuralgia. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2014 May;18(5):411. doi: 10.1007/s11916-014-0411-x. PMID: 24737457.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11916-014-0411-x
Wamsley CE, Chung M, Amirlak B. Occipital Neuralgia: Advances in the Operative Management. Neurol India. 2021 Mar-Apr;69(Supplement):S219-S227. doi: 10.4103/0028-3886.315980. PMID: 34003169.
https://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886;year=2021;volume=69;issue=7;spage=219;epage=227;aulast=Wamsley
Blumenfeld A, Ashkenazi A, Napchan U, Bender SD, Klein BC, Berliner R, Ailani J, Schim J, Friedman DI, Charleston L 4th, Young WB, Robertson CE, Dodick DW, Silberstein SD, Robbins MS. Expert consensus recommendations for the performance of peripheral nerve blocks for headaches--a narrative review. Headache. 2013 Mar;53(3):437-46. doi: 10.1111/head.12053. Epub 2013 Feb 13. PMID: 23406160.
https://headachejournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/head.12053
User testimonials
Reviewed By:
Benjamin Kummer, MD (Neurology)
Dr Kummer is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), with joint appointment in Digital and Technology Partners (DTP) at the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) as Director of Clinical Informatics in Neurology. As a triple-board certified practicing stroke neurologist and informaticist, he has successfully improved clinical operations at the point of care by acting as a central liaison between clinical neurology faculty and DTP teams to implement targeted EHR configuration changes and workflows, as well as providing subject matter expertise on health information technology projects across MSHS. | Dr Kummer also has several years’ experience building and implementing several informatics tools, presenting scientific posters, and generating a body of peer-reviewed work in “clinical neuro-informatics” – i.e., the intersection of clinical neurology, digital health, and informatics – much of which is centered on digital/tele-health, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He has spearheaded the Clinical Neuro-Informatics Center in the Department of Neurology at ISMMS, a new research institute that seeks to establish the field of clinical neuro-informatics and disseminate knowledge to the neurological community on the effects and benefits of clinical informatics tools at the point of care.
Shohei Harase, MD (Neurology)
Dr. Harase spent his junior and senior high school years in Finland and the U.S. After graduating from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology), he worked for Apple Japan Inc. before entering the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, where he received the Best Resident Award in 2016 and 2017. In 2021, he joined the Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, specializing in hyperacute stroke.
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