I am asked routinely about the relationship between whiplash and occipital neuralgia.  First of all, what is whiplash?  Simply put, it is a sudden jerking of the head, usually in a backward/forward direction or sometimes side to side.  Common causes of whiplash include motor vehicle accidents, sports related injuries, and any other violent motions such a shaking a baby too hard or even a big roller coaster ride.  Motor vehicle

Nerve blocks are very powerful tools in helping to determine whether or not a particular person is a good surgical candidate. Nerve blocks are simply injections of local anesthetic which will last several hours depending on the type of local anesthetic used.  Every once in a while, these blocks will last a shorter period of time (e.g. 2 hours) and occasionally they will last much longer (e.g. a day or

Chronic headaches such as migraines remain a huge burden on the American healthcare system accounting for tens of billions of dollars in both direct and indirect costs annually.  What’s more, these financial considerations don’t take into account the psychological and emotional toll inflicted on those who suffer from this type of chronic pain. A study done a few years back showed that the health-related quality of life of migraine sufferers

Many people consider a migraine to be a really bad headache. The truth is, it is a severe, neurologic condition. However, when perusing the medical literature, it becomes apparent that the term ‘migraine’ in many practical instances, is actually a name that we have given to a constellation of symptoms as opposed to a specific medical issue with a specific, identifiable cause. If you go to WebMD or the Mayo

In this post, we discuss two important terms, ‘neuroplasticity’ and ‘central sensitization’.  Neuroplasticity refers to the amazing ability of the brain to change and adapt in response to interactions of a person with his/her environment.  Implicit in this explanation is that there are actual physiological changes that occur between neurons (i.e. nerve cells) within the brain in terms of new or altered connections. Central sensitization refers to changes that occur

The term ‘nerve block’ refers specifically to an injection of local anesthetic that is aimed at inactivating a nerve.  These blocks typically work by chemically and temporarily disabling a nerve’s capability to conduct an impulse.  The result can be numbness in the case of a sensory nerve (i.e. a nerve that provides sensation to a part of the body), paralysis in the case of a motor nerve (i.e. a nerve

Believe it or not, the idea of a peripheral nerve causing your headache dates back as far as 1000 A.D. when one of the founding fathers of surgery (Al-Zahrawi) first treated migraines using cauterization.  More recently, that is to say about 20 years ago, the idea that sources outside the central nervous system (i.e. brain and spinal cord), specifically peripheral nerves in the head and neck could be responsible for

In this post, we discuss two important terms, ‘neuroplasticity’ and ‘central sensitization’. Neuroplasticity refers to the amazing ability of the brain to change and adapt in response to interactions of a person with his/her environment. Implicit in this explanation is that there are actual physiological changes that occur between neurons (i.e. nerve cells) within the brain in terms of new or altered connections. Central sensitization refers to changes that occur

The covering of muscles in humans is called fascia (pronounced fah-sha).  It consists of a very tough, fibrous layer of connective tissue that surrounds the muscle itself.  What does that even mean, Dr. Peled?!? Well, if you have ever skinned a breast of chicken in preparation for dinner, you know that sometimes there is this tough layer of sinew that has to be cut away so that you can see

This post will be a relatively short one, but this question is very important.  I have been queried about this phenomenon numerous times in the office and while lecturing to other surgeons.  Compression of the occipital nerves can come from spastic muscles in the neck, scar tissue, thickened fascia (a tough type of connective tissue) and abnormal blood vessels, specifically branches of the occipital artery.  When the latter are involved,