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

GuySmiley wrote:

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

thanks GS
did see a garmin that looked reasonably priced, that would suit

GreenJam, I've had these symptoms for couple of yrs now, age/wear & tear related, & have seen various Drs. Theres drugs around that help with the nerve endings firing off the impulses that cause these issues, IE:- balacalava headache, eyes feeling like there trying to bug out of your head, pressure around your scalp etc. I've had mixed results with them, but if Dr wants you to try them go for it, it's a debilitating feeling..One exercise I find really help is Turkey Neck exercise.. stand agains a wall, lower your head to your chest then try & bring you head back to the wall, you'll really feel the stretch, look it up on the interweb. Also find a Pain Specialist DR, mine has ablated the nerve endings to relieve issues or you can have injections. I have these in my Crevical,Thoracic & lumbar areas to relieve pain..........now just in case & please take this with as coming from a patient & NOT a DR, ok,!!..& I don't mean to scare you but... if you have a REALLY sensitive scalp, eg if you're in the shower & water pressure hurts your scalp, & if you start to feel like throwing up get to a DR asap & ask about Giant Cell Arteritus.!!...this happened to me & its fukin serious !!.. you can go blind very quickly. Please look it up on the NET & read up on it.....hope this helps.

thanks unclethirsy.

mri results are in, and it looks to be like you describe - wear and tear in upper neck leading to 'neural exit foraminal narrowing' (moderate to severe) and I guess that's causing nerve issues leading to the headaches/pains. I'd thought it would be muscular, maybe there is some interrelated nature of that. Not sure, will be seeing an orthopaedic specialist soon. From what I've read, severe cases likely require surgery for relief. Not keen on that but certainly cannot live with this pain and disfunction its causing. Maybe the nerve ablation thing you mentioned might be an option.

and thankfully I dont have the extreme scalp sensitivity you describe, so I wont stress myself out about the GCA thing. It does sound rough, hope you got through that ok

anyone else have any experience with surgery or other management options for this?

cheers.