At the current pace of life, an ordinary person has to solve several problems at once. His brain is subjected to many hours of stress, emotional pressure is growing, of course, there is pain in the neck and neck.
This kind of pain syndrome is one of the most common phenomena for middle-aged and older people, as well as those who, for a number of reasons, lead a sedentary lifestyle. Sometimes pain in the neck and head occurs suddenly, sometimes it builds up gradually. Such feelings are often not taken seriously by the patient - a person takes an anesthetic and continues to work.
Frequent headaches in the back of the head in people with intellectual labor can even cause some “respect” and sympathy for those around them. This testifies to their particular zeal and industriousness. However, sooner or later, pain in the neck and head will so reduce the level of human comfort in life that he will make a serious decision to get rid of it.
Myogelosis
The most trivial cause of myogelosis is the compaction and spasm of the muscle tissue of the cervical spine. The patient feels pain in the back of the head and dizziness. Shoulder movements are difficult and constrained. There is a sharp pain in the neck and back of the head during exercise. The muscles are spasmodic, the head turns with difficulty. Pain in the back of the head and dizziness do not allow adequate orientation in space. A man needs urgent help.
Myogelosis can be caused by a number of reasons, including:
- draft;
- prolonged or intense stress;
- violation of posture;
- long stay in an uncomfortable position.
Stress
Pain in the neck can also cause mental stress, provoked by constant stress: chronic and acute. Men over the age of 30 and women are especially exposed to such risks.
Mental or physical strain, fatigue
Enthusiastically working at a computer or driving a car, a person often pays attention to the position in which he is only when pain occurs in the neck or in the head. It is necessary to monitor this.
Injuries, chronic diseases
Sprains, injuries, subluxations of the intervertebral joints, spondylitis and osteochondrosis also cause pain in the neck and neck. These diseases affect the cervical spine and cause severe discomfort.
Arterial hypertension
A headache in the back of the head , especially in the first hours after sleep, may indicate developing arterial hypertension. Attacks of dizziness, weakness can accompany the arising pain in the back of the head on the right or left. Sometimes patients describe this symptom as a “squeezing hoop” on the head.
Cervical spondylosis
When the lateral processes of the vertebrae (osteophytes) grow and are deformed, cervical spondylosis develops. In this case, ligament tissue degenerates into bone tissue. Spondylosis is a disease of sedentary people. In many cases, older people suffer from this ailment.
With cervical spondylosis, the mobility of the neck decreases, the head turns with difficulty, and there is a noticeable pain in the neck and neck. Pain arising in the upper shoulder girdle and occiput can radiate to the entire back of the head, ears, eyes. The quality of sleep worsens significantly: the patient wakes up due to tension and pain in the neck.
With pressure on the intervertebral joint, the pain intensifies. Cervical spondylosis is clearly manifested when the patient throws his head back.
Occipital Neuralgia
Even a simple movement of the head, coughing, sneezing cause sharp "backache". Pain in the back of the head radiates to the back, lower jaw, ears and the cervical spine. To relieve pain, the patient tries to keep his head in one position.
The causes of occipital nerve neuralgia can be both hypothermia and colds, and osteochondrosis, spondylarthrosis, and other ailments of the spine.
Even when the sharp pain when turning the neck releases, pressure remains in the back of the head, and a spasm appears in the muscles.
Vertebrobasilar Syndrome
As a consequence of cervical osteochondrosis, vertebrobasilar syndrome is considered. The patient develops tinnitus, dizziness appears, and his eyes “fade”. At the same time, the coordination of movements is clearly disturbed, the skin of the face turns pale, there is a pressing pain in the back of the head, nausea, vomiting, and hiccups are observed. Due to throwing back, turning the head, a person loses balance, is immobilized, and faints.
Cervical migraine
It is characterized by intense pain in the temples, the back of the head, extending to the superciliary arches. There is a feeling of pain in the eyes, they are as if sprinkled with sand. Vision is blurred, hearing is impaired, tinnitus in the ears, dizziness.
Cervical migraine, in contrast to classical hemicrania, has a significant moment (marker). If you press with your finger the line connecting the spinous and mastoid processes of the first cervical vertebra, pain immediately arises and intensifies. So, pain with a slight compression of the cervical aorta indicates the presence of cervical migraine. With true hemicrania, first, after a feeling of weakness, there is pain in the back of the head on the right.
Pain of tension
With prolonged reading, writing, if the neck and head are in the wrong position, muscle tension occurs, pain in the back of the head appears. This kind of ailment is called tension headache. It also occurs if you keep your head still for a long time while watching TV, working on a computer, or playing sports. In these cases, pain can be caused by tension in the muscles responsible for turning the neck, deep extensors.
Symptoms: pressure, increasing pain in the back of the head and in the frontal part of the head.
Excitement, fatigue
Often there are headaches due to unrest, focus on work, overwork. There is a feeling that the skull squeezes an invisible hoop. The pain is not acute, but constant. The muscles of the temples, forehead, neck and neck are tight and tight. When pressed, they respond with pain.
Doctors explain this by the fact that long-term focus on one specific action is an emotional and physical stimulus for prolonged muscle contraction.
Often this kind of pain is accompanied by tinnitus and dizziness without nausea.
Features of pain
Typically, the patient is not able to accurately determine the location of the felt pain. Especially if it radiates to other parts of the body. With pain in the neck and in the head, it is difficult to distinguish the root cause of their occurrence. Even the usual touches on the back of the head cause discomfort and pain in the entire upper part of the neck, to say nothing of turning the head or tilting.
Self diagnosis?
The human body is quite complicated. Different organs in it are interconnected, and painful sensations in one of them often directly depend on the condition of the other. Not always even a specialist can conduct the correct diagnosis on his own. At least he will be smart enough to seek the advice of a colleague.
Moreover, an ordinary person should not take risks. Indeed, there are often cases when, trying to remove the pain syndrome, people allowed the disease itself to strengthen or mutate. And if the reason lies in the spine, it’s stupid to drink pills and tinctures from pressure!
It is better to immediately conduct an examination comprehensively with a number of specialists: a traumatologist, neurologist, cardiologist, exercise therapy doctor and massage therapist.
In order to determine the causes of pain syndromes by making an accurate diagnosis, modern medicine uses: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), x-ray, and other methods. Only after receiving the results of the necessary examination, the doctor can diagnose the causes of pain and prescribe treatment.
Remember, if the pain in the back of the head or neck responds to other parts of the body, consult a specialist for an accurate diagnosis.
First aid
When there is a severe headache in the back of the head, first of all, you need to maximize the health of the environment in which the patient is located. To do this, it is necessary to ventilate the room, make sure that there are no external irritants: bright light, loud and piercing music, sounds.
Then do a light massage of the shoulder girdle, neck, neck. At the same time, try not to press on the spinal column. After this, it is recommended to lie down and try to completely relax. Stressful situations and problems that were already during the day have passed. If you worry about the upcoming ones, they will not become easier from this. So throw them out of your head.
Even before visiting a doctor, you can take the drug "Ibuprofen", which reduces the intensity of pain. Fatty fish contain omega-3 acids that can prevent inflammation.
As a first aid for pain in the back of the head, you can do an exercise to stretch and relax the muscles of the neck. We sit exactly on a chair, do not lean on its back. Wrap your arms around your head so that your thumbs are on the cheekbones and the rest on the back of the head. Now, holding the head in this position with your hands, we tilt it back. Hands do not allow the head to lean back. Hold this position for 6-7 seconds, relax and sit back in a chair. Do a few repetitions of this exercise.
Often this is enough for the headache to subside.
If the pain does not stop for a long time, it is necessary to establish the causes of their occurrence. As a temporary measure, a tablet or traditional medicine may work. With ongoing pain in the back of the head, you do not need to self-medicate! See a doctor.
Therapeutic measures
When the diagnosis is made accurately, the attending physician determines the treatment course, taking into account the individual characteristics of the course of the disease. Treatment, first of all, is aimed at eliminating the causes of the disease.
For treatment, drugs of three groups are used.
- Painkillers.
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Muscle relaxants.
In most cases, fairly conservative methods of treatment are used: medication, physiotherapy. With defects and injuries - manual therapy. Swimming and special complexes of physical exercises are always useful, but in some cases simply necessary.
Electrophoresis gives remarkable results: blood flows to stagnant muscles, the amount of lactic acids, causing a burning sensation, decreases. With a tendency to headaches, it is recommended to do regular warming massage of the upper back and neck to prevent and eliminate headaches.
Therapeutic exercise is indicated for osteochondrosis. When prescribing exercise therapy, a vitamin complex is usually prescribed. To improve blood flow, warming ointments are applicable .
Only as a last resort, a necessary measure is applied surgical intervention. This occurs when pain in the neck and back of the head becomes frequent, severe, lasts a long time, a person is limited in movement, when the result of the disease is a general deterioration in human health. But, again, this measure is applicable only if serious complications arise or are in real danger.
If the causes of pain in the back of the head and temples are stresses, you should identify them and try to reduce their impact.
Prevention of pain in the neck and neck
An understanding of simple things is important: a healthy lifestyle without bad habits, regular exercise, a special diet and good rest are the key to preventing and eliminating headaches. Do not forget about the orthopedic pillow.