Question
Dear Doctor Rozeboom,

I have been experiencing tight bands on both sides of my head for months now. I feel pressure behind my ears, my eyes feel heavy, it feels like someone is using their two fists and pressing hard into my head, around the location of the temporal bone. At times I experience pain, however all day long, I experience heavy pressure at the sides. My scalp feels very sensitive, and when I press with my fingers at the top of the scalp,it hurts. I had an MRI of the brain done, which showed everything was fine. I also had a c-scan done on the sinuses, and that is fine as well. My physician has taken an x-ray of my neck, and it showed little or no disc space in two parts of the neck.However he doesnt think its a pinched nerve, since I dont have any pain in my arms.  When i press on the back of my head, I feel like the pressure increases on the sides of the head. I haven't had a cervical spine MRI done yet. I saw a chiropractor, he suggested that it may be greater occipital nerve demage. PLease advise me on what to do, and if occipital nerve demage may be the cause. Thank you for your kindness

Answer
Maria:

Thanks for writing!

Yes, I am sure it could be the greater occipital nerve. I doubt that it is permanently damaged. Very likely it is just being stopped from doing its job by the tension in the spine.

A chiropractor is supposed to fix this, not just give it a name and let it go at that. I suggest you ask your chiropractor to fix it or go to a different chiropractor.

Go to www.sorsi.com, www.icak.com or www.soto-usa.com and find a good chiropractor near you. Give them my name, if you want and they can email me at [email protected] if any questions.

Dr. Rozeboom