Occipital neuralgia can be a debilitating condition that causes intense pain in the back of the head and neck. While there are various treatment options available, including medications and nerve blocks, many people find relief through exercises and stretches specifically targeted at relieving occipital neuralgia symptoms.
Here, I will explore some of the most effective exercises for occipital neuralgia, discussing their benefits and how to perform them correctly. If you’re looking for natural ways to manage your occipital neuralgia pain, keep reading to discover the exercises that may provide you with much-needed relief.
What Is Occipital Neuralgia?
Occipital neuralgia is a rare form of severe headaches that won’t go away. It happens when pain starts in the occipital area and moves along the occipital nerves. Some nerves connect the top of your spinal cord to your head.
Not like migraines or headaches, occipital neuralgia can happen quickly, even with something as easy as brushing your hair. During the attacks, the worst part is very short and painful. It lasts for only a few seconds to a few minutes. Even though migraine pain is very bad, it lasts a lot longer than occipital neuralgia pain.
What Causes Occipital Neuralgia?
Occipital neuralgia is commonly caused by a pinched nerve at the neck’s base. People sometimes feel this way when their neck muscles are too tight. An injury to the head or neck can sometimes cause it. Another usual cause is long-term tension in the neck.
Some other conditions that can cause or make occipital neuralgia worse are:
- osteoarthritis, especially in the upper neck, which can pinch nerves;
- tumors that press on nerve roots;
- Getting blood vessel inflammation
- Getting gout
- Individual attacks or cases of occipital neuralgia can happen for no apparent reason or be set off by a light touch.
What Are The Symptoms Of Occipital Neuralgia?
The main sign of occipital neuralgia is rapid, severe pain that a lot of people think of as a migraine. People have said that this pain is strong, piercing, stabbing, and sharp.
Painful episodes may only last a few minutes or seconds, but the nerves may still be sore for a while afterwards. When you have a headache, the pain may be worse on one side of your head than the other.
People who get occipital neuralgia episodes probably won’t have signs like red or watery eyes, which are common with other types of primary headaches. Occipital neuralgia pain is different from tension headaches in that it feels more like a stabbing pain than a dull aching.
Does Exercise Work In Occipital Neuralgia?
Yes. Adding exercise to your plan to deal with occipital neuralgia can be very helpful. It makes the blood flow better, makes muscles stronger, eases strain, and lowers stress. But you should be very careful when you exercise, and you should talk to your doctor or a trained physical therapist before you start any exercise plan.
Benefits of Exercises for Occipital Neuralgia
Exercise can provide numerous benefits for those suffering from occipital neuralgia. Taking regular exercise can improve overall health and alleviate symptoms. It stimulates blood circulation, which can reduce inflammation and promote healing. It is also helpful to stretch and strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles in order to relieve tension and pressure on the occipital nerves.
6 Effective Occipital Neuralgia Exercises
Exercises, stretches, and methods can help ease the pain of occipital neuralgia.
Neck Rolls
Neck roll is a great way to deal with occipital pain. Slowly move your head from side to side, taking care not to strain your neck. You will feel less stressed, and the muscles will loosen up. When rolling your head, keep your chin level with your shoulders. Try to roll as far as you can without getting hurt or tense.
How to Do Neck Rolls
If you want to does this exercise correctly?
- Start slowly and speed up as you get used to it.
- Do 10 to 15 rolls in each way. If you need to, you can do this several times a day.
- Remember to take breaks between classes, too.
This keeps you from working out too hard and gives your muscles time to rest.
Seated & Standing Neck Stretch
Stretching the neck muscles can provide significant relief from occipital neuralgia discomfort. There are numerous stretches to select from. The seated and standing neck stretches are two of the most popular.
How to Do Seated Neck Stretch?
Lie on your back in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. This will help you do a sitting neck stretch. Lean your head to the left slowly and hold for 30 seconds. Do it again on the right.
Putting your left hand on top of your head and stretching your right hand out to the side will work best. Put some light pressure on your head as you tilt it to the left to make the stretch stronger. Do it again on the other side.
How To Do Standing Neck Stretch?
Stand up straight and make sure your chin is level with your shoulders for the second stretch. Hold this position for 30 seconds while you gently push your head back and keep your chin level. To say it again, you should warm up before this stretch. When you do this exercise, remember to take deep breaths and never push your body into a position that hurts.
Shoulder Rolls & Shrugs
People who have occipital neuralgia pain should also pay attention to their shoulders. Shoulder rolls and shrugs are two of the best movements for relieving pain.
How to Do a Shoulder Roll?
Keep your back straight while you sit or stand to do a shoulder roll. Good balance is very important for this exercise, so try not to slouch. Once you’re in place, roll your shoulders back ten times with light pressure.
To do it ten more times, move forward. You can also move your shoulders in circles to loosen up the muscles and take the pressure off the nerves.
Chin Tucks
This is because slouching puts additional strain on the body’s nerves. Aside from improving your posture, chin tuck exercises are one of the most effective strategies to minimize nerve-related pain.
This technique strengthens the muscles while also gently stretching the connective tissues. This can help relieve strain on the nerves in your neck over time.
How To Do Chin Tucks?
Stand up straight with your shoulders back. This will help you do a chin tuck. Remember to keep your chin level with your shoulders, just like you did with the other methods.
Once you’re in place, tuck your chin in towards your chest slowly and hold for 30 seconds. Let go of the tuck and let your chin go back to where it started. Do it 10 times. Try not to arch your back or hunch your shoulders while you do this exercise.
Jaw Rolls
One more way to ease the pain of occipital neuralgia is to do something called “jaw rolls.” In recent years, doctors have seen that stress in the muscles or joints along the jawline can have an effect on the neck over time.
People who have TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) should really pay attention to this. This simple movement can help loosen up your jaw muscles so you can relax them. In turn, this makes the muscles in this area work better, which takes pressure off the occipital nerves.
How To Do Jaw Rolls?
Don’t slouch while you sit or stand to do a jaw roll. Remember that good balance is very important for getting rid of occipital pain. Slowly move your mouth in a circle 10 times in each direction once you are in place. You can also slowly close your mouth a few times after opening it wide. Stop right away if you feel any pain or pressure.
Facial Exercise
The muscles in our faces are the next set of workouts. A number of different facial movements can help ease the pain of occipital neuralgia. One way is to close your eyes and make your eyebrows as high as you can. Hold for ten seconds, and then let go. Do it 10 times.
Another thing you can do is slowly open and close your mouth a few times. This will help the muscles loosen up, and the nerves feel better.
These methods, like the jaw rolls we talked about above, are great ways to relax the muscles in your head and neck so they work well. On the other hand, this helps relieve tightness in the area and can ease some of the stress on your occipital nerves.
Other Way to reduce occipital neuralgia Pain
Above this exercise, there are other ways to remove occipital neuralgia pain.
Scalp Massage
Scalp massage is so good at easing the pain of occipital neuralgia. A head massage is very simple to do and can be done almost anywhere.
For this method, use the tips of your fingers to massage your hair gently. Try moving them around in a circle. The muscles in the upper neck will rest, blood flow will go up, and nerve pressure will go down. It’s best to begin at the top and work your way back. Extra time should be spent rubbing any areas that hurt a lot.
As long as you do it regularly, massaging your head can help ease headaches and neck stress. It is very important because one of the main reasons why occipital neuralgia symptoms get worse is tight muscles in the neck. Scalp rubs are also good for your health in other ways. They work well for:
- Getting rid of stress
- Feeling relaxation
- Getting hair to grow
- Bringing down blood pressure
Heat Therapy
Heat treatment is another great way to ease pain in the occipital area. This is done by putting heat on the head and neck with a heating pad or another device. If you do this kind of therapy daily, it really helps to ease your pain.
Why does this happen? Heat makes the blood vessels bigger, which sends more blood to the muscles in the neck. It loosens up tight muscles in the neck, which makes nerves in the area less stressed.
How to Use Heat to Treat Pain?
You can ease pain in a number of ways. You can put a heating pad on the area, take a warm bath, or use a warm massage. Some warm gel packs can even be used for this. Just make sure you keep track of how long you do this kind of treatment. For most people, 20 minutes of heat is enough. Anything longer than that can burn or irritate the skin.
How to Keep Your Heating Pads Safe?
Before you use a heating pad or heated gel pack, you should make sure you know some simple safety rules. Among these are the following:
- It is very dangerous to put a heating pad right on your skin because it can burn you badly.
- To keep this from happening, wrap the pad in a towel before putting it on the area that hurts.
- When a heating pad is on, don’t fall asleep.
- If the wires on your heating pad are cracked, don’t use them. They could start a fire.
- Do not put a heating pad on skin that is broken or damaged.
Ear Massage
Something like a scalp massage, an “ear massage”, is meant to calm you down, help you rest, and lower your stress. If done right, it can help get more blood to the head and neck and relax muscles at the same time.
Tips on How to Massage Your Ears
Start an ear massage by pulling on your earlobes ten times, once in each direction. This will help stretch the muscles and take some pressure off the nerves, which will make your head pain go away. As a last step, rub your ears gently in a circle. It helps to make the pressure spots and nerve endings feel better.
Relaxation Techniques
Finally, relaxing your body can help ease the pain of occipital neuralgia. A number of different means of rest can help this. Let’s look more closely at the two that work best:
Progressive Muscle Relaxation:
Pulling your body tight and then slowly relaxing each group of muscles is part of this method. Work your way up from your toes to your head.
Deep breathing:
The goal of this technique is to relax your muscles while you take deep, slow breaths.
As they work to ease stress and tension, both of these methods can help ease some of the pain that comes with occipital neuralgia. The best part is if you use these techniques regularly, this problem won’t come back.
Precautions You Need to Take before Do occipital neuralgia exercises
Before starting any workout plan for occipital neuralgia, you should make sure you follow these safety tips:
Get Help From A Medical Professional:
Consult a doctor or physical therapist that specializes in treating occipital neuralgia for advice. They can give you advice that is specific to your wants and conditions.
Slowly build up:
Start with easy movements and gradually increase the intensity and length of your workouts. Don’t overdo it.
Change the activities:
Change or avoid an activity if it makes your pain or discomfort worse.
Warm-Up and Cool-Down:
Getting ready for your workout and keeping your muscles from getting hurt starts with a good warm-up and cool down routine.
Stick To It:
It’s important to be consistent when working out. Try to exercise regularly, even if it’s for a short period of time, to get the most benefit.
Lifestyle Tips for Occipital Neuralgia Management
Exercise is not the only way to deal with occipital neuralgia. You can also make the following lifestyle changes:
Maintain a balanced diet:
Eat a healthy diet full of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins if you want to stay healthy.
Managing stress:
Relaxation techniques, hobbies, and spending time in nature can all help you deal with stress in a positive way.
Set up a regular sleep schedule:
To improve healing and pain relief, establish a regular sleep schedule, create a pleasant sleeping environment, and prioritize adequate sleep.
Final Words
You can manage the symptoms of occipital neuralgia by incorporating exercises and stretches into your daily routine. By targeting the muscles and nerves involved in occipital neuralgia, these exercises will provide relief.
You can choose from a variety of neck stretches and relaxation techniques depending on your individual needs.
If you want to manage your symptoms effectively, consistency is key, so try to include these exercises in your daily routine. You can improve your quality of life and improve your flexibility by taking an active role in your treatment.
FAQ
How did I cure my occipital neuralgia naturally?
By using ice or heat therapy, you can remove occipital neuralgia naturally. As you lie down, place an ice pack under the base of your head. However, heat therapy, such as an electric heating pad, may provide more relief. When you apply heat to the problematic area, local blood vessels widen, and blood flow to the neck rises, which can help relieve muscle tension.
Is occipital neuralgia lifelong?
No. Occipital neuralgia can resolve, but it may take a long time. Not everyone requires medication or surgery. If the source of the inflammation is addressed, occipital neuralgia can be resolved on its own.
What Foods to Avoid If You Have Occipital Neuralgia?
You have to avoid intake of starchy foods and those high in sodium. This is because too much salt can create high blood pressure, which can limit blood flow and cause nerve damage.
