Pain in back of the head

Painin the Back of the Head

Headachesare a common occurrence, typically caused by stress, migraine ormuscle tension. Recurring headaches are very rarely a sign of astroke or tumor, as some people may worry about. Headaches in theback of the head can sometimes spring up without any direct cause andare usually because of migraine. The two types of headache areprimary (headaches which are not linked to other illnesses) andsecondary (headaches that can possibly involve a non-visible causesuch as an infection or tumor).

PrimaryHeadache Types (Occipital Neuralgia)

Tensionheadaches occur in people who are stressed or tense and involve theneck muscles tensing as a result. Many factors can cause tensionheadaches, such as skipping meals, working too much, drug or alcoholabuse or simply a lack of sleep. Occasionally, certain foods such ascheese, chocolate or anything including MGM (mono-sodium glutamate)can trigger tension headaches. Using a microscope or computer for anextended period of time can cause headaches, as can various otherfactors, such as cold weather, sleeping in a strange or uncomfortableposition or grinding one's teeth or clenching the jaw.

Painin the back of the head is commonly caused by migraine, the painoccasionally accompanied by noise intolerance or visual disturbancesas well as pounding or throbbing head and neck pain. Another possiblecause is craniocervical junction, as back of the head pain generallyconsists of tenderness, scalp pain, paresthesia and occipital orsub-occipital headaches. This usually results from various factorsincluding injury or inflammation of the brain, tumour, basilarimpression or possible pressure being exerted on the occipital nervesor root ganglion.

SecondaryHeadache Types

Vertebrogenicheadaches occur due to a harmful misalignment of the spine in theneck, caused by poor posture, tension or stress. Sinus headaches dueto infection can also lead to back of the head pain and can bedistinguished by increased pain as the head is tilted forward. Short,sharp headaches that are very intense occurring through the day arecalled cluster headaches, and are not as common as headachesresulting from migraine or tension.

Althougha large number of headaches are simply due to illnesses such asinfluenza, fever, colds or PMS (premenstrual syndrome), some arecaused by a brain aneurysm or temporal arthritis. Other, very rarecauses for headaches of this kind include stroke, encephalitis, braintumor or meningitis.

Frequentheadaches located in the back of the head can be cause for alarm anda medical professional should be sought for advice. In certain cases,the doctor might recommend an MRI or X-ray of the head to discoverthe primary cause of the headaches.