Occipital Nerve Block
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What is an Occipital Nerve Block?
Your greater occipital nerve is responsible for most of the feeling in the back and top of your head. Irritation or inflammation of this nerve can cause headaches.
People with occipital nerve irritation often report pain starting from the base of their skull on one side of their head. The pain may extend as far as the temple, forehead, and behind the eyes.
An occipital nerve block is one of the most common procedures to provide pain relief for migraines and chronic headaches.
FAQs - Occipital Nerve Block
An occipital nerve block is a procedure that involves injecting pain-relieving medication into your greater and lesser occipital nerves.
It’s primarily used as a treatment for chronic migraines and headaches. The first step of the occipital nerve block treatment is applying a local anesthetic to the treatment area. This helps to relieve any discomfort that may occur during the injection process. Once the treatment area is numbed, a needle will be carefully inserted into the area surrounding the occipital nerves, in the back of the head right above the neck. After the needle is in place, the injection will be performed. This treatment is typically completed in less than an hour. After treatment, you may notice some minor swelling or bruising at the injection site, but these effects usually fade within a few days.
After your occipital nerve block treatment, you will notice immediate pain relief due to the local anesthetic that is injected. This will wear off in a few hours, and pain may return briefly. The medication will take effect within a few days, soothing inflammation and blocking nerve signals so that you can enjoy long-lasting pain relief. The results from your occipital nerve block can last between several weeks and several months. The exact duration of these results will vary, so we will help you determine the kind of results that you can expect during your initial visit.
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