Recurring head pain

[Skaiba]

So, for the last 2 months or so I have had this recurring head pain.  it started off as a burning sensation towards the back of my head, near my neck.  It's gradually moved to other parts of my head, including now with an odd, sharp needlelike pain at the top of my head near the middle, sometimes near that area along with tension in my neck.  I've been getting migraines more frequently and have had some gastrointestinal issues too (I'm not sure if this is related or not.)  I'm a very anxious and stressed person, and it's affected me before with chest pain.  But after reading some information online, I've found everything from tension headaches to brain tumors to worms!  I'm hoping this is just me overworrying, but its been going on for a while.  Is this serious, and am I just scaring myself?

[Dr J Singh]

Hello,

Pain in the back of the head is often referred to as a cervicogenic (meaning: from the neck) headache because it often originates from an irritation in the upper cervical (neck) spine. This is because the nerves that supply the back of the head originate in the upper cervical spine.It is seen most commonly in patients with whiplash injury and in patients with marked arthritis of the upper cervical spine.
Sometimes this kind of pain is due to compression of the nerve in the neck.In your case as tingling is also present so cervical nerves irritation like in cervical spondolysis can be responsible.

Pls get a CT back of head and neck or MRI neck to find out the confirmatory diagnosis.

Till then Give rest to the part,try wearing a cervical collar and give cold compresses to the site of pain.You can also take over the counter analgesics(pain relievers) like ibuprofen(advil/motrin) and muscle relaxants.Local application of muscle relaxant gel may also be useful.

Hope it helps.If you have any additional queries,then pls post us.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
Well, these could be tension headaches, migraines or nerve root compression at the level of cervical vertebra. GERD, sever acidity and constipation too can cause headaches. So if you have GI issues you must consult your physician first. If taking care of these issues help you then you will be fine. If not, then you need to consult an orthopedic specialist to rule out cervical issues. Tension headaches and migraines are best treated by a physician.

Apart from this eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and try yoga.
Hope this helps. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!