“Oh, My Aching Occipital!”

More common in women, headaches originating from the base of the skull are known as occipital headaches.

The occipital bone is located at the lower part of the skull at the back of your head. Often, patients come to our practice with a specific type of headache, known as an occipital headache, which is really a “base of the skull nerve” headache!

What causes these types of headaches? Well… generally, they occur because of a whiplash injury, a fall or some other type of trauma to that area of the head. Because of this trauma, the occipital nerves that originate in the upper cervical spine may become compressed, inflamed or trapped by the muscles they pass through. This results in muscle spasms and pain that travels along the path of the occipital nerve.

The pain associated with this type of headache seems to begin in the upper neck and radiates to the back, top, front and sides of the head and often into the area directly behind the eyes.

As with many types of headaches, occipital headaches tend to occur more often in women and chiropractic care has been shown to be effective in reducing their occurrence. In one study, each of 332 participants received an average of 8.6 chiropractic adjustments. Of the total number of participants, an impressive 80% reported almost a 100% improvement in their headaches!

If you or someone you know is experiencing this type of headache, or any other type of headache for that matter, please schedule a visit with our practice. We have had a great deal of success in working with patients who experience chronic headache pain, and we never tire of seeing patients reclaim their lives, leaving behind their headaches and the medications they had been using just to survive!