Headache in Back of Head, Persistent, Severe, Sudden, Throbbing, Causes, Get Rid, Treatment & Home Remedies

A headache in back of head may be sudden, severe, throbbing and persistent. Such headaches occur due to many different health factors and conditions. This page presents, causes, signs and symptoms of headache in back of head. Furthermore, it explores how to get rid of and prevent the headaches with medical treatments and home remedies.

Types of Headaches

A headache is pain experienced in any part of the head and sometimes in the neck. It is characterized by a sharp pain, a throbbing sensation or a dull pain that can develop gradually or suddenly. It may last for minutes of several days.

Headaches are classified into two broad categories: Primary headaches and secondary headaches.

Primary headaches

Primary headaches are headaches whereby the headache pain itself is the illness. In other words, there is no underlying disease or condition that causes the headache. The common types of primary headaches include:

• tension headaches
• migraine headaches
• cluster headaches
• exertion headaches

Secondary headaches

Secondary headaches are headaches in which the headache pain is caused by some other illness. This means that there is an underlying disease or condition that causes the headache. The common types of secondary headaches include the following:

• Sinus headaches
• Medication overuse headaches.
• Headaches from illness e.g. meningitis
• Post-traumatic headaches
• Spinal headaches
• Brain tumor or aneurysm headache
• Cervicogenic headaches

Signs and Symptoms of Headaches In Back of Head

The signs and symptoms of headache in back of head vary depending on the causes. Usually, the headaches may be describes as being continuous pain or throbbing pain which may be mild or severe.

In addition, the headaches are often accompanied by other signs and symptoms, which depend on the cause of the headache. The common symptoms that accompany headaches in back of head include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Confusion
• Vision problems
• Partial paralysis
• Trouble in speaking
• Looking pale and feeling cold
• Facial tingling or numbness
• Trouble understanding speech
• Pain worsened by physical activity

The signs and symptoms of various headaches are sometimes used to determine the type and probable or actual cause of the headache. Accordingly, the doctor can prescribe appropriate treatment once the cause has be known.

Causes of Headache in Back of Head

A headache in back of head may be a primary headache or a secondary headache. There are several causes of headache in back of head. These causes include:

1. Physiological Factors

Physiological factors mainly cause primary headaches such as migraine, tension andcluster headaches.

• Stress: Stress refers to the mental or emotional strain due to adverse or demanding circumstances in your life. Stress is a common cause of headache in back of head, especially tension headache.

  

• Fatigue: Fatigue refers to extreme feeling of tiredness due to mental or physical effort or illness. It is another common cause of tension headache in back of head
• Sleep deprivation: Inadequate sleep may also result in headache in back of neck, especially when you go to bed at irregular times.
• Bad posture: Bad posture like leaning or bending forward for a long time may also result in headache in back of your head.
• Eyestrain: Eyestrain may result from using your eyes for a long time, for example on a computer. It may also be caused by struggling to see what distant or unclear objects.
• Hunger: For some people, hunger is a trigger for headache in back of head. If your headache comes mostly when you are hungry, this could be the cause.
• Orgasm: Some people experience headache in back of head when they have orgasm during sex.
• Food: There have been reports of certain food triggering headache in back of head as well as other parts of the head for some individual.
• Dehydration: Dehydrating refers to a condition where your body does not have adequate fluids due to insufficient water drinking or illness. This can lead to headache at the back of your head.
• Hormonal influences: Hormonal changes and imbalances may also trigger headache in back of head. Such headaches are usually experienced by women especially during menstrual periods and pregnancy.

  

• Medications: Certain medications may cause headache in back of head especially at the beginning end of using certain drugs. Similarly, medical processes such as dialysis may lead to such headaches. These medications probably affect certain physiological process, triggering the headaches.
• Brain misinterprets information: At times, the headache that you experience may be caused by misinterpretations of information by the brain. This happens when the brain wrongly interprets other signals as pain.

2. Physical Activity

Engaging in rigorous or prolonged physical activities and certain involuntary actions can lead to physical stress that may also cause headache in back of head. These physical stressors result in tension buildup in the head, which triggers the headache. They include:

• Rigorous activities include lifting or carrying a heavy object, running, and exercising.
• Prolonged activities which can cause headache at the back of your head include continuous use of a computer, cycling or driving for a long time.

  

• Involuntary actions which cause great exertion like sneezing, laughing, coughing and clearing your throat can cause headache in back of your head.

  

3. Physical Injuries

• Vertebral Artery Dissection

This artery is located in the neck. It supplies blood to the brain of the vertebral artery dissection refers to a condition whereby the vertebral artery gets a flap-like tear in its inner lining, especially due to injuries. This usually results in sudden headache in the back of your head.

• Injury of The Neck Muscles

An injury to the neck muscles like strained or torn muscle tendon for example because of whiplash. Such an injury is likely to cause headaches in back of head.

• Basilar Skull Fracture

This is a fracture at the base of the head. Usually, the fracture involves one or more of the following bones: temporal bone, occipital bone the sphenoid bone and ethmoid bone. Basilar skull fracture may cause headache in back of head and neck.

4. Physical stimulus

Physicals stimulus refers to the effects of environmental factors which when exposed to lead to headache in back of head and other parts of the head. These factors include

• Air: Some people experience headaches when subjected to indoor air
• Light: There are individual who may experience headaches depending on the quality of lighting they are subjected to
• Altitude: Some people experience headaches when in high altitudes

5. Diseases and Conditions

• Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

This refers to a condition in which there is increased pressure in the skull. This condition is also associated to headache in back of head and other parts of the head. The pain due to his condition is usually pulsatile or throbbing.

• Cervicogenic Headaches

This is a condition caused by spinal problems in the neck. Various types of neck condition such as facet joint arthritis and whiplash injury, can result in these types of headaches. The headaches especially affect the back of neck and head, though it can spread to other parts of the skull.

• Trapped Nerve

In case a nerve in your nerve gets trapped by muscles or bones or blood vessels, it may cause headache in back of your head. The pain caused by a trapped nerve is usually very severe. Various nerves conditions like occipital condyle syndrome, hypoglossal nerve palsy, and accessory nerve palsy can lead to nerve damage that may cause headache in back of head.

• High and Low blood Pressure

High blood pressure as well as low blood pressure may exert undue strain on the blood capillaries and organs. This may result in headache in back of head and other parts of the head.

• Heart attack

The onset of an angina attack may be accompanied by a headache at the back of your head. Pain in the back of the head may occur during a heart attack or at

• Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a long-term degenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system. It mainly affects the motor part of the central nervous system. This disease often causes low blood pressure which is why some people with Parkinson’s may experience headache in the back of the head.

• Dengue Fever

This is a debilitating disease that is characterized by sudden fever and acute pains in the joints. It is caused by dengue virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes. It is a possible cause of headache in back of head, especially if the headache is severe.

• Inflamed Lymph Nodes

Enlarged and painful lymph nodes may be the cause of headache in back of your head. Thera are various reasons why your lymph nodes may get inflamed.

• Inflamed lymph nodes due to pharyngeal cancer and other neck cancers, leukemia and lymphoma is likely to cause chronic and persisted headache in back of neck
• On the other hand, inflamed lymph nodes as a result of strep throat, infectious mononucleosis, rubella, scalp infection, and infection of the middle ear are likely causes of new headaches in back of head.

• Brain Tumor or Cyst

Sometimes the headache in back of head is caused by a brain tumor or cyst. Such a growth will certainly lead to stain in the head organs. This, in turn, may lead to such a headache. The headaches may affect other parts of the head too.

• Brain Aneurysm

This is a condition whereby one of the brain arteries is widened. The widening of the artery exerts undue strain on head organs leading to usually a sudden headache in back of head and other parts of the head.

• Infectious Meningitis

This is an infection that is caused by viruses, bacteria of fungi. It spreads quickly to other parts of the body after you get infected from another person. Its typical symptoms include high fever, neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting and a severe headache that begins at the back of the head.

• Giant cell arteritis

In case you have Giant Cell Arteritis it may affect occipital arteries, which are at the back of the head.

According to severe-headache-expert.com, “As the occipital arteries lie right next to the greater occipital nerve, so Giant Cell Arteritis can cause a headache back of head”

• Subarachnoid Haemorrhage

This a condition where there is bleeding between the brain and membranes that cover the brain. This happens usually due to a ruptured brain Aneurysm. Often, this condition leads to sudden headed in head which may include back of head.

• Neck Tongue Syndrome

This refers to an unusual syndrome that affects the back of the neck and head. It is typically triggered by suddenly turning your head. This condition leads to a sudden headache in back of head. The headache is usually one sided headache and lasts for only a few seconds.

• Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea or sleep apnoea is a sleeping disorder that is characterized by pauses in your breathing or periods where you experience shallow breathing. Sleep apnea may cause chronic headaches in back of head and insomnia.

• Adult Aqueductal Stenosis

This refers to condition that leads to the narrowing of Sylvius. This may lead to the blockage of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system. This condition causes thunderclap headache, which is usually experienced in back of head.

• Overactive Thyroid Gland

This is a disorder that causes your thyroid gland to produce excessive thyroid hormone. Although not yet confirmed, there have been cases of headache in back of head due that are linked to this disorder.

• Retropharyngeal Tendinitis

Retropharyngeal Tendinitis refers to a condition whereby the retropharyngeal tendon is inflamed. It is associated with severe headache in back of head that may even prevent sleep.

• Occipital neuralgia

Occipital neuralgia refers to a condition whereby the occipital nerves, which run from the top of the spinal cord and pass through the scalp, become inflamed due to injury or illness. This condition usually causes headache in back of head. The pain caused by the headache ranges from throbbing, aching, burning, to a sharp and stabbing feeling.

6. Genetic Predisposition

Some people are genetically predisposed to headaches in back of head. This genetic predisposition may be acquires or hereditary. Inherited headache predisposition can be easily noted as it runs in the affected family.

7. Unknown Causes

The causes of some headaches in back of head are not known. Such headaches included genetic-related headaches and periodic headaches that only at every particular time.

Throbbing Headache Back of Head

In case you are experiencing a throbbing or pulsating headache in back of your head, it could it is likely to be migraine headache. Migraine is a primary headache and its usual causes are stress and hunger.

Severe Headache Back of Head

A severe headache may be a sing of various health problems:

• Meningitis: The headache is sudden and severe. It starts at the back of the head. It is usually accompanied by symptoms such as fever, neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, nausea and sometimes vomiting. You should seek emergency medical care immediately.
• Brain aneurysm: Severe and sudden headache
• Vertebral artery dissection: Severe and sudden headache in the back of the head after injury. It causes speech problems and other neurological problems. Seek urgent medical attention.

Persistent Headache Back of Head

Persistent headaches may imply various illness and conditions including disorders of cervical spine, brain tumor or cyst, inflamed lymph nodes and congenital disorders: the headache is chronic persistent and recurrent in the back of the head.  It l lasts for months to years. See your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Pressure Headache in Back of Head

The causes of pressure or tension headaches in back of your head is not known. However, it is usually thought to be a sign of stress. It is characterized by dull, aching pain; sensation of tightness on the forehead, side of head and back of head. See your doctor is it disturbs your normal life or there are changes in the pattern of the headaches.

Headache in Back of Head and Neck

If you experience a headache in back of head and pain in the neck, you could be suffering from various health problems including:

• Injury of the neck muscles
• Enlarged and painful lymph nodes
• Shingles – herpes zoster, especially if it is one sided
• Neck-tongue syndrome (2). It is usually one sided, right or left side of the back of your head.
• Fibromyalgia: It usually affects women. It is accompanied by chronic fatigue, muscle joint aches and pain in back of neck, chest, elbows, hips and knees.

Diagnosis of Headache in Back of Head

Headache in back of head is diagnosed in various ways, including

• Physical examinations
• Neurological examinations
• Medical history of the patient’s headache
• Diagnostic tests
  • Blood tests and urinalysis
  • Computer tomography (CT scan)
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • Sinus X-ray
  • Ophthalmology evaluation
  • Lumbar puncture (Spinal Tap)

How to Get Rid of Headache in Back of Head

To get rid of headache in back of head, you need to understand the causes of the headache, the degree of pain and the danger they pose on the patient. Generally, since primary headaches do not have an underlying condition or disease, they can be treated using painkillers and some home remedies. However, secondary headaches are usually got rid of by treating or managing the underlying diseases and conditions

Treatment for Headaches In Back of Head

The treatment used to cure headaches in back of head mainly depend on the cause of the headaches and the danger it pause to the patient.

Primary headaches are generally treated using over-the-counter medications especially painkillers. These medications help prevent headaches relieve pain or treat the headaches. The common OTC medications for headaches in back of head or other parts include

• Aspirin
• Acetaminophen
• Fenoprofen
• Flurbiprofen
• Ibuprofen
• Ketoprofen
• Nabumetone

Note

• Use over the counter medications according to the instructions given. Do not exceed the dosage prescribed for you.
• In case you have other conditions and diseases, consult your doctor before using the over the counter medications. They may worsen the other conditions or even cause serious complications.

Secondary headaches in back of head are usually managed by treating or managing the underlying causes. However, other medications that help relieve the pain due to the headaches may be used alongside those used to treat the underlying problems.

The type of medication that is prescribed for secondary headaches depend on the particular cause of the headache. Usually, prescriptions are administered after diagnosis of the underlying problems.

Home Remedies for Headache In Back of Head

You can manage headache in back of head with home remedies. However, note that these home remedies are only suitable when you know the cause of your headache.

Generally, these home remedies are appropriate for getting rid or soothing primary headaches, especially when the cause is obvious like fatigue bad posture or over activity.

Nevertheless, these home remedies can be used to alleviate pain due to secondary headaches as you seek or wait to see a medical practitioner for diagnosis.

1. Ginger: Steep ginger root in tea and drink it. It will reduce inflammation of blood vessels and ease the pain due to the headache
2. Peppermint oil: inhale peppermint aroma in a cool room. Peppermint has methanol that helps open up clogged blood vessels that may be causing the headache.
3. Lavender oil: Put a few drops of lavender oil on a piece of cotton wool or tissue paper and inhale the scent. This will help ease the headache.
4. Cinnamon: Prepare a paste from cinnamon powder and apply it to the back of your head and any other affected parts. Wash it off with warm water. It will help relieve the headache.

   

5. Cloves: Crush a few cloves and place them in some cotton wool. Strongly inhale the scent from the crushed cloves to relieve the headache. The cooling effect of cloves helps soothe pain from a throbbing headache.
6. Apple cider vinegar: Boil a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water. Place it in a cup. While it is still hot, place it close to you. Quickly cover yourself with a blanket and inhale its steam while under the blanket.
7. Basil: Steep a few basil leaves in a cup of hot water. Add some honey into the contents and drink. Basil acts as a muscle relaxant and will help get rid of headaches caused strained muscles.
8. Stretches: Carry out a few exercises to stretch your heads and neck, which will help reduce the intensity of the headache. Repeatedly move your chin left and right then up and down. In addition, repeatedly bend your neck sideways towards each of your shoulders
9. Cold compress: Apply a cold compress to the back of your neck. The cold compress will help relieve inflammation which is a common cause of headaches in the back of head

   

10. Soak your legs: Place your legs in a basin of cold water: This too will help relieve headache in back of your head and other parts of the head.

When to See a Doctor

Some headache in back of head and other parts of the head manifest symptoms that may not need doctor’s intervention. This is especially if the symptoms are clearly as a result of manageable causes like fatigue, bad posture and over activity. However, some require immediate medical attention and in others, you need to see a doctor soon because they are worrying.

Visit a Doctor Immediately

As we have seen, headaches in back of head may be a symptom of serious conditions like stroke, heart attack, meningitis or encephalitis.

Therefore seek emergency services is you experience a headache with any of the following characteristics:

• The headache is sudden
• The headache is severe
• The headache causes confusion
• The headache causes inability to understand speech
• The headache is accompanied by high fever, which is greater than 39°C or 102 F
• The headache is accompanied by weakness, numbness or partial paralysis
• The headache is accompanied by trouble in seeing, speaking or walking
• The headache is accompanied by nausea or vomiting unless these are due to clear causes like hangover

Schedule to Visit a Doctor

See a doctor soon if your headache in back of head or other parts have the following characteristics

• They now occur more frequently than before
• They are now more severe than usual
• They do not improve with OTC medications
• Disturb your normal sleeping
• Prevent you from engaging in your usual activities
• Causes you distress or make you worried about what could be the cause.

Sources and References

[showhide type=”links” more_text=”Show Sources and References” less_text=”Hide Sources and References”]

1. Headache in Back of Head: http://www.med-health.net/Headache-in-Back-of-Head.html
2. Identify the Pain in Your Head: The 5 Kinds of Headaches: http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20327041,00.html
3. Headache in the back of the head: Understanding the causes: http://www.belmarrahealth.com/headache-back-head-understanding-causes/
4. How to Find a Cause of Pain in the Back of the Head? http://www.healthhype.com/headache-causes-of-pain-in-the-back-of-the-head.html
5. Headache Causes and How to Treat Head Pains: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/diagnose-headaches
6. When does a headache need to be seen at the hospital: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/09/headache-hospital.html
7. Headache: http://www.medicinenet.com/headache/page2.htm
8. Headache: http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/headache/basics/when-to-see-doctor/sym-20050800 [/showhide]