Have a headache that doesn’t cause nausea or light sensitivity? Does it often begin with a throbbing pain in your neck? People who answered yes to these questions may have a nerve issue called occipital neuralgia.
Occipital neuralgia occurs when the occipital nerves that run from the top of the neck into the scalp are pinched or inflamed. A study on patients at one headache clinic reveals that 25% of the people surveyed had occipital neuralgia. Physical therapy can help you treat the throbbing neck pain and other symptoms of occipital neuralgia.
These three physical therapy treatments can help with throbbing pain in the neck
Before starting your treatment, your physical therapist will confirm that occipital neuralgia is causing the throbbing pain in your neck. Then, they’ll look for underlying issues that have led to this issue. After gathering this information, your therapist will develop a therapy plan to fit your specific needs.
This therapy plan can include treatment options like:
- Manual therapy — Mobilizing and manipulating joints and soft tissue is the goal of manual therapy. This category of therapy is applied by the hands of your physical therapist. For occipital neuralgia patients, the therapist typically focuses on the neck and upper back. The results of manual therapy can be very positive; in fact, one study of neck pain sufferers reveals that 75% of the patients who had manual therapy had substantially reduced pain.
- Therapeutic exercises — Neck range of motion (ROM) and pain are closely linked. Typically, occipital neuralgia patients have decreased ROM and increased pain. Therapeutic exercises are one way your physical therapist can help decrease your neck pain by increasing neck ROM.
A study on neck and back pain patients shows that therapeutic exercises helped improve:
- Neck flexion by nearly 15 degrees.
- Neck extension by almost 11 degrees.
- Rightward bending by 6 degrees.
- Leftward bending by nearly 6 degrees.
- Myofascial release — An issue that can cause the muscle tension that’s pinching the occipital nerve is myofascial trigger points (MTPs). These are areas of the muscles where scar tissue or knots have developed. Myofascial release involves your physical therapist using their hands to apply pressure to MTPs to break them up.
A study on patients with forward head posture shows that myofascial release helped reduce forward head angle by nearly 3 degrees. This reduction means that less stress is placed on the neck muscles, which can lead to decreases in pain.
Find help for the throbbing pain in your neck at Whatcom Physical Therapy
Not sure where to turn for physical therapy for the throbbing pain in your neck? Our team at Whatcom Physical Therapy offers just the type of therapeutic care you need for this type of pain. We can start you off with a free screening that can reveal the source of your pain. Then, our specialists can create a personalized treatment plan for you that’s designed to:
- Improve neck range of motion.
- Reduce tension in neck muscles.
- Build strength in neck muscles.
- Improve your posture.
- Decrease neck pain.
We even offer virtual therapy sessions that allow you to work with your physical therapist without leaving home.
Contact our team today for more information about our neck pain treatment options or to schedule an initial appointment.
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