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Occipital nerve block is a procedure involving injection of steroids or anesthetics into regions of the greater occipital nerve and the lesser occipital nerve used to treat chronic headaches. These nerves are located in the back of the head near in the suboccipital triangle along the line between the inion and the mastoid process .
Local anesthetic is applied to the back of the neck and a Tuohy needle is advanced towards the location of the greater occipital nerve and lesser occipital nerve under fluoroscopic guidance. [8] [9] [10] When the location is confirmed, a temporary lead is placed through the needle before the needle is carefully removed.
Problems with the greater occipital nerve may be a cause of cervicogenic headaches. [1] These may be referred to as occipital neuralgias. A common site, and usually misdiagnosed area of entrapment for the greater occipital nerve, is at the obliquus capitis inferior muscle. [2] These may be treated with a temporary nerve block. [1]
Nerve block or regional nerve blockade is any deliberate interruption of signals traveling along a nerve, often for the purpose of pain relief. Local anesthetic nerve block (sometimes referred to as simply "nerve block") is a short-term block, usually lasting hours or days, involving the injection of an anesthetic, a corticosteroid, and other agents onto or near a nerve.
It remains a common practice to utilize a landmark-only approach when performing greater and lesser occipital nerve blocks. For blockade of both nerves, medication is infiltrated along the nuchal ridge. This technique, while easy to perform and relatively safe if done correctly, may not be particularly accurate and as a result, could ...
The medial branch (ramus medialis; internal branch), called from its size and distribution the greater occipital nerve, ascends obliquely between the Obliquus capitis inferior and the Semispinalis capitis, and pierces the latter muscle and the Trapezius near their attachments to the occipital bone. It is then joined by a filament from the ...
Occipital cryoneurolysis is a procedure used to treat nerve pain generated by peripheral nerves (nerves located outside of the spinal column and skull) commonly due to the condition occipital neuralgia. [1] A probe (no larger than a small needle) is carefully placed adjacent to the specific nerve.
A nerve decompression is a neurosurgical procedure to relieve chronic, direct pressure on a nerve to treat nerve entrapment, a pain syndrome characterized by severe chronic pain and muscle weakness. In this way a nerve decompression targets the underlying pathophysiology of the syndrome and is considered a first-line surgical treatment option ...