We often encounter a class of patients in the clinic, always shouting the back of the head pain, and even radiate to the head of the two sides of the temporal region, and even the front of the head (near the temples), especially in the turn of the head, the pain is more pronounced, and is often a dull pain, radiating pain. Many doctors will be attributed to the category of migraine, often after treatment has not been well improved, in fact, I personally think that this is still controversial, after some intracranial disorders, high blood pressure, herpes zoster and some other diseases, this type of headache and cervical vertebrae in fact, the relationship is very close! In general, they are cervicogenic headaches, one of which is called occipital neuralgia!
Why occipital neuralgia?
From a modern medical point of view: occipital neuralgia refers to the occipital nerve or occipital nerve due to organic or functional problems resulting in pain radiating to its innervated area of the disease, in the clinic is very common, clinically occipital neuralgia to occipital neuralgia incidence is the highest, followed by occipital neuralgia. Trauma to the occipital region, colds, occipital nerve entrapment, or insufficient blood supply to the vertebrobasilar artery are all causes of pain in the posterior occipital or suboccipital region. This pain can spread to the parietal and temporal regions, and the pain is mostly pinprick-like throbbing or radiating pain, and there are some obvious triggers that can increase the pain.
Treatment to get good results should be, catch the real culprit!
Often through the consultation, you can learn that these patients have a long history of work, cervical spondylosis, etc. So the degeneration of the cervical spine is often the cause of the problem. So the degeneration of the cervical spine is often the real culprit, the cervical spine of the acute and chronic degeneration, including: cervical spine itself degeneration (hyperplasia, osteoporosis, small joints disorders - mainly hook vertebral joints and articular joints of the misalignment), the degeneration of the soft tissues (laxity of the ligaments, the aging, the muscle of the long term strain on the occipital nerve, which triggered the pain). Modern research has shown that: degenerative changes around the cervical spine and injury occipital neuralgia has a variety of causes, leading to the development of occipital neuralgia, the main cause of cervical spondylosis neck muscle chronic strain and injury, followed by temperature changes, overwork and occupational characteristics. A common cause of occipital neuralgia is cervical spondylosis involving the C2 C3 nerve root.
Physical examination is essential when approaching such patients! Cervical examination, especially for an acupuncturist, is more important, through the cervical palpation, we can clearly know the cervical spine localization of a state, through the palpation of the cervical soft tissue state, muscle tension? Is there any limitation of cervical spine movement? Is there any pressure pain? Is there any distortion of the cervical spine? And so on pathological state, understand these states also has a benefit is in our treatment can be targeted relaxation of these parts, so as to play a targeted treatment, twice the result with half the effort. Often these patients found after palpation, lesions are often concentrated in the upper neck segment, that is, the location of C2-3. From the point of view of the acupoints is, concentrated in the wind pool, Tianzhu, complete bone points these places.
Modern medical treatment, mainly: nerve block, painkillers, muscle relaxants, often not long-lasting or even significant.
From the traditional medical point of view, occipital neuralgia in Chinese medicine is a "headache" category, from the point of view of the meridian circulation, is the Shaoyang, the sun headache. Because of the evil obstruction of the veins, not through the pain. But for an acupuncturist, if you think of treating this kind of disease purely from internal medicine, the effect may not be significant enough. Acupuncture treatment is still dominated by meridians, identify the position of the meridians, localization of the meridians, and the idea of the distant path to the meridians.
From the meridian point of view, this kind of disease belongs to the meridian disease, that is, we are common in the category of chronic soft tissue strain disease, occipital neuralgia, the involvement of the main for the foot of the Shaoyang bile meridian and the foot of the solar bladder meridian of the meridian, so in the treatment of the preferred two meridian circulation of the acupuncture points. I treat this kind of disease, preferred Fengchi point, together with the local A is the point, complete bone point, Tianzhu point, the idea of the distant path through the meridian, select these two meridians distal points, such as Chancellor XI, foot Linsui, Waiguan (foot Linsui + Waiguan is a group of points in the eight veins meeting points for the treatment of this kind of disease). Often it can be very effective. Almost 2-3 times can significantly relieve the symptoms.
From the anatomical point of view, the occipital large nerve trunk is in the deep part of the Tianzhu acupoint, the deep part of the Fengchi acupoint is the head of the oblique muscle, which is the occipital small nerve through, so when the neck is overstrained or cold, the local muscle contraction, resulting in occipital nerve compression and thus triggering a headache.
So when treating this kind of chronic strain disease, as an acupuncturist, we should organize our thoughts, more from the theory of meridian meridian to guide acupuncture, recognize the essence of the disease, in order to realize the dredging of meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian meridian, painless!