Health, fitness and wellbeing

thanks Indo, appreciate the feedback. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

If it is occipital neuralgia it is often a mechanical cause leading to pressure on one of or multiple occipital nerves. Everyone is different but common predisposing factors are stress, jaw clenching, prolonged sitting/desk work etc.

Sometimes that tension has built up over quite a long time and inflammation in the area builds with friction and pressure then one day you cross a threshold where it becomes neuralgia and it feels like it has come on all of a sudden.

Obviously releasing the suboccipital muscles through massage/trigger point therapy seems logical but if it is a severe case that can feel aggravating and inflame the area even more and be detrimental so a light touch might work better.

But if you have been clenching jaw muscles that can change the position of your head on your neck and other tight muscles that can lead to that tilted head at the base which can cause pressure on the occipital nerves - (pterygoid muscles, digastric, sternoclydomastoid) then you are probably better off addressing them first.

See if you know anyone that can recommend a good local osteopath experienced in that area.

Hi lostdoggy, thanks heaps that that. and sorry for the slow reply, I didnt see it on the homepage, and maybe just me but then it seems to get lost...

i had the mri yesterday, hopefully get the diagnosis on Monday, but what you describe might have nailed it. I've definitely had some ongoing issues in the neck area for a while now, and a big recent work stress event may have exacerbated it, it really has affected me physically. I dont believe there is any jaw clenching going on.

it has felt for a long-time (few years now) that I might have weak neck muscles, in that my head often just feels heavy and minor headaches are frequent, then the occasional big one but normally only lasts a day or two. This one 10 times worse and settled in it seems. The neck issue has even been a cause of my not having surfed in over a year - the angle of the neck to hold up the head when paddling would cause major strain, and leave me feeling extremely neck and head sore and severely 'groggy/wobbly' after the surf.

anyway, thanks again, I'll keep your advice in mind once I know for sure what is going on.

not sure if this is the chat for it , but
watch shit itself today and been thinking , what's the general Consensus on surfing smart watches ,
have iphone personal and work .
not willing to spend a fortune , im a tradie so whatever i decide to get has to be durable .
looking for input here

^^ have a Garmin for about 8 years and I’ve been very happy with it, not cheap