Ocipital nerve headache

[concernedmomtoo]

I'm writing this for my daughter as typing is a problem for her.  Her issues are many, so I'll try to be brief.  One in particular that troubling is that of a headache which we believe to be caused by the ocipital nerve.  These headaches seem to be brought on by the use of her arms when she does things like writing, typing, driving, sorting, wiping, movements of pressing down with her hands, anything with a micro-movement in association with head hanging.  this creates a burning, stinging,stabbing sensation and pains run through her upper body from the waist to the scapula to the neck, head and behind the right eye.  The entire right quadrant of her body seems to be affected.  The pain moves around and isn't consistent, which leads us to believe that it can be triggered by something positional.  Her only relief is to do little in the way of arm activity, keep a straight forward position and look straight ahead.  The headaches usually last for a couple of days and because she has intestinal problems isn't able to take NSAID's.  I should mention that she has been diagnosed with seven thoracic herniations, four cervical, as well as arthritis, spondylosis and stenosis.  She has been to many doctors, had many tests and scans and as of yet, no one knows what her problem is or how to help her.  Her life has been on hold for over three years, so any comments or suggestions will be appreciated - she's in pain most of the time.  Thanks in advance..

                                                                                                       Concernedmomtoo

[concernedmomtoo]

Well, thanks all the same.  It's nice of you to take the time to help all of us who are experiencing seemingly impossible situations.  

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I do not do those injections, they are usually done by pain specialists, often anesthesiologists. I can't say.

JCH MD

[concernedmomtoo]

Thank you for your comments.  My daughter had a single injection done in the back of her head at a pain clinic, but the procedure was not as extensive as the one shown in the video.  In general, how long might the relief last for a person who has the procedure shown?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Not much I can tell you. However it is possible to block pain fibers from the occipital nerve, see:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udDaNhPNwT8

JCH MD