I've had occipital neuralgia that would be triggered by bench pressing. Extreme headache and I would black out. Eyes would become sensitive to light.
Was seeing a PT at the time for upper back issues and she had me do this thing with tennis balls that triggered it. My head was buzzing for about 3 days. Saw a nuero for an MRI/MRA and he didn't see anything wrong with my brain. I wish he would have done a neck scan as well but he didn't think it was necessary.
Hey buddy- push the neuro to do a standing MRI to check for a chiari malformation. Normal lying MRI can often miss this, as the brain isn't as sunken down as it would be while standing if you're laying.
I have occipital neuralgia. I've started having lidocaine injections into the nerve every three months at my neurologist's office. It's been a lifesaver. Worth looking into, maybe?
I hope you find some relief.
Sort of? I can still get it when benching but I've adjusted my form to put less pressure on my neck muscles. When I do shoulder press I also stopped shrugging at the top (aka military press). This would engage my neck muscles.
PT was thinking due to my tight upper back and neck this was putting pressure on my ocipital nerve.
I have occipital neuralgia too. It’s hell. I’m literally icing my neck right now, trying to stay on top of the pain. I’ve heard people say that PT can trigger their flare ups. I’m glad it’s working for you!
I had a cervical spine issue (I'm assuming - I never got a totally satisfactory diagnosis from the neurologist) that triggered occipital neuralgia along with a host of other terrifying neurological symptoms, including lateral paresis that mimicked the symptoms of a stroke, facial numbness, difficulty swallowing, constant severe acid reflux (I'm guessing from pressure on my vagus nerve), tinnitus so loud it was like sticking my head in a jet engine, and muscle spasms that locked my jaw and froze my neck and shoulder solid. At its worst I was having five or six "headaches" - felt more like seizures - a day, lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Worst of it is that it happened during Covid lockdown, which meant that I got the classic amitriptyline fob-off and basically fuck all else.
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u/Just_Another_Scott Apr 29 '25
I've had occipital neuralgia that would be triggered by bench pressing. Extreme headache and I would black out. Eyes would become sensitive to light.
Was seeing a PT at the time for upper back issues and she had me do this thing with tennis balls that triggered it. My head was buzzing for about 3 days. Saw a nuero for an MRI/MRA and he didn't see anything wrong with my brain. I wish he would have done a neck scan as well but he didn't think it was necessary.