Pain at the back of your head - Neurology Clinic Dubai DRHC
Do you experience pain at the back of your head? If so, let me tell you, this is one of the common, yet tricky symptoms that brings the patient to a Neurologist.
Pain might be only in the head or it may be associated with shoulder pain. It can come in bouts of very short to prolonged duration. It might be associated with nausea, vomiting, or feeling dizzy. There might be sensitivity to light or sound but not everybody complains about it.
What causes this type of pain?
Various reasons for this symptom are
- Hypertensive headache
- Cervicogenic headache
- Occipital neuralgia
- Vestibular migraine
- Vertebral artery dissection
- Intracranial hypotension
- Other secondary headaches
How is it diagnosed?
Detailed clinical history with respect to onset and duration of symptoms, episodic versus continuous, quality of pain, any aggravating and relieving factors are enquired for. These historical points are extremely helpful for the neurologist to narrow down to the cause. The general systemic and neurological examination further helps in this process. As we discussed blood pressure is one of the reasons. Sometimes the blood pressure is fluctuating and the patient may ignore the spikes of high BP, but let me tell you that one should never ignore these spikes and seek medical advice, as we know high blood pressure is a silent killer.
What tests you might undergo?
Various investigative modalities that are considered include Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring which may bring to notice the spikes of raised blood pressure that the patient might not be knowing or ignoring. X-ray cervical spine may reveal associated spondylosis with radiculopathy which may be adding to patient suffering. MRI imaging of the Head and neck may help us to diagnose more serious causes like brainstem tumor, venous obstruction, inflammation or dissection of arteries, and so on.
Is it something serious?
Well of course some of the causes are serious and even life-threatening, but the complete evaluation is most important before we conclude. Based on the proposed diagnosis, treatment can be planned.
Let's remember one thing
A stitch in time saves nine!!
Neurology Clinic in Dr. Rami Hamed Center, Dubai is located near Dubai Healthcare City. For Appointments, Call +97142798200
