I have the exact same problem, and like Many of you, I have had it for as long as I can remember. I always thought it was normal and happened to everyone, until recently when people looked at me like I was crazy and had no idea what I was talking about.
Here's what I experience: every once in a while I'll turn my head and then all of a sudden an extreme, burning pain appears in the back of my head to the side. This pain never lasts more than a minute, it's usually just a few seconds, and it seem like I can feel it coming on when it's going to happen.
This is an extremely strange symptom so I figure everyone should list some abnormalities in their medical history and we can look for similarities.
I have asthma
For a year of my life, I would have severe muscle spasms and knots in all parts of my back and no one could figure put what was wrong. According to my chiropractor, the pressure of a dime would set my back off into severe muscle spasms. The problem went away on it's own after about a year but I still have back problems every once in a while
My sister has MS
My family has a history of high blood pressure
I am very inflexible and feel dull aching pain behind my knee when I try to stretch my hamstrings (not from the hamstrings themselves)
I am very prone to strep throat and other infections such as sinus and chest
I have difficulty sleeping
I haven't thrown up in 10 years and had piloting stenosis
I feel like I am progressively getting less intelligent. I have had a neuropsych evaluation and am in the top 5 percentile for learning ability for my age, while I'm only in the 60th percentile for memory. I believe my memory has gotten worse over the years (note: I'm only 17), and maybe my learning ability as well
I have difficulty concentrating and have been recommended for ADHD medication
I have many stomach issues although I am not lactose intolerant, and I have had a bacterial parasite in my stomach twice
That's about all that I can think about that's noteworthy at the moment. List some of your medical history and any relevant facts as well.
Here's what I experience: every once in a while I'll turn my head and then all of a sudden an extreme, burning pain appears in the back of my head to the side. This pain never lasts more than a minute, it's usually just a few seconds, and it seem like I can feel it coming on when it's going to happen.
This is an extremely strange symptom so I figure everyone should list some abnormalities in their medical history and we can look for similarities.
I have asthma
For a year of my life, I would have severe muscle spasms and knots in all parts of my back and no one could figure put what was wrong. According to my chiropractor, the pressure of a dime would set my back off into severe muscle spasms. The problem went away on it's own after about a year but I still have back problems every once in a while
My sister has MS
My family has a history of high blood pressure
I am very inflexible and feel dull aching pain behind my knee when I try to stretch my hamstrings (not from the hamstrings themselves)
I am very prone to strep throat and other infections such as sinus and chest
I have difficulty sleeping
I haven't thrown up in 10 years and had piloting stenosis
I feel like I am progressively getting less intelligent. I have had a neuropsych evaluation and am in the top 5 percentile for learning ability for my age, while I'm only in the 60th percentile for memory. I believe my memory has gotten worse over the years (note: I'm only 17), and maybe my learning ability as well
I have difficulty concentrating and have been recommended for ADHD medication
I have many stomach issues although I am not lactose intolerant, and I have had a bacterial parasite in my stomach twice
That's about all that I can think about that's noteworthy at the moment. List some of your medical history and any relevant facts as well.
Meant pyloric stenosis not piloting stenosis (autocorrect)
I have read all of your postings and I also thought that I was crazy. I have the same burning sensation in my head and the numbness of my tongue this only happens to my right side. I did look up the symptons of acroparesthesia and for me most of these symptons do match a lot. I also have hypothyrodism which links all my effects together. I looked this up because I have not had this happen to me in 3 years, so odd that it would happen now. I will be seeing a doctor hopefully we can all get an answer. I wanted to say thanks to the person who posted the details about acroparesthesia.
wow, surprising isnt it? I mean obviously a lot of people have this problem but know very few others (excluding family) who get it XD my mom used to tell me I was crazy and that it was just "whiplashish" o.o nothing like it by the way but its really crazy how many people have this problem considering i couldnt find anyone who actually had it :P sucks that no one knows what it is though, i thought it might be a pinched nerve too.
I FEEL like my skin in my had burs so much it's so painful and i really want to know what does it means ??
I am so glad I found this site. I have been experiencing these since I was very young. I still get them periodically, but not very often anymore. It is like two wires short circuiting in my brain and then intense burning heat that spreads throughout my brain for 4 or 5 seconds. Turning my head quickly usually sets it off also. Sometimes I can feel it coming on and if I stop moving my head quick enough I can actually stop if from happening, but I have to hold my head still for quite awhile. It always starts at the base of my skull and the burning always moves up and out to one side or the other. When it's happening I literally can not move. I have to wait until it stops before I can move again. I think it's because I am afraid to move because it will make it worse.
Thank you all for your posts. I am happy to discover that I am not alone and that I am not CRAZY!!
I've had this as well. My father told me he had it too, but I can't remember anyone else in my family saying they've had it happen, or anyone else I've talked to. Recently the right/back side of my head where my neck meets has just been aching lately. I've been massaging and stretching it, but I'm getting worried. I used to have this head turning thing happen to me more when I was younger, and can't recall it happening recently. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with what's going on with me now either.
THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO ME. IT HAPPENS ONCE A YEAR, I QUICKLY TURN MY HEAD OR SNEEZE, I GET A BURNING SENSATION IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD ON THE RIGHT SIDE... LASTS LIKE 15 SECONDS MAYBE
I have had the same thing happen to me all of my life. I thought something was seriously wrong with me. I am happy that I am not the only person this has happened to and found this website. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one.
I just had one of these, and after some quick research directed to the sensory nerves that supply that region, I may have an answer:
First, the thing that i remember is that the pain is always unilateral. It is always on the side to which i turned my neck. Secondly, It is also bound by the the neck on the bottom and back of the scalp on the top. Thirdly, It is a burning sensation that goes away quickly.
All of this point to a nerve entrapment. Thinking back to anatomy, there is a specific set of nerves that arise from a region in the neck and provide sensation to exactly the region that we all described. It provides sensation to ALL the areas we described and doesn't provide sensation to ANY area that we did not describe. That pretty much bolts this nerve being pinched somehow to number 1 on my list. Next, I had to research if this nerve is prone to being pinched. The nerves i am talking about are the Greater and Lesser Occipital nerves, and they come out of the spine through a region in the neck called "Suboccipital Triangle". This region is basically a small triangular hole that has 3 muscles as the boundaries of the triangle. Then the nerves pass through the trapezius muscle (yes, piercing thru it), and ascend up into the scalp.
Looking at the literature, the entrapment of these nerves have been studied - and we are not crazy or making this pain up. What we are experiencing is known as Greater Occipital Nerve Entrapment (also called GON entrapment). What we are experiencing is basically, one of the muscles (mainly Obliquus capitis inferior muscle or trapezius muscle) contracting and irritating the nerve for just a second. These muscles are used to turn the neck to that side. So now, it should make sense why it happens when u turn the neck and only on that side.
Our condition isnt generally treated, unless it starts happening without even having to turn the neck or the pain lasts longer (continuous irritation of the nerve). This may happen if you had trauma to the region or bad arthritis in the neck. I empathize for them. I cant take a 15 sec pain - how awful would it be for it to be much longer.
A question, many of you may have is why does it happen only sometime, and how can i prevent it.
I best i can come to an answer is that, the suboccipital triangle is a fairly large "hole" compared to the size of the nerve that travels thru there. Therfore whenever the muscle contracts around it, the muscles don't touch the nerves. Sometimes however, the nerves my randomly be at the edges of the "hole" or be pushed to the edge by the movement of the head accidently and therefore when the muscle contracts, the muscle hits the nerve. Nerves don't like being hit.
I wish there was a way to prevent this. I doubt there is though, but I'm just a student - so what do i know. The episodes seem to happen with things having to align up in a perfect storm.
More info can be found at this website (even though they are describing this for ppl with worse symptoms than ours due to nerve entrapment secondary to arthritis or trauma):
http://www.med.nyu.edu/neurosurgery/pns/conditions/compressions/neck/greater.html
feel free to ask me any questions, or correct me where i may have misinterpreted facts. I just want to close with saying physicians don't know all the answers, but i pity the ones who wont even try to listen to the patients and take an hour or so at home to do some research and try to figure it out.
You were the most helpful on this subject, thanks so much. My mom gets these and I feel helpless not being able to help her, the Dr. has no idea what it is, you have cleared up a lot of questions. I just wish there was a cure.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
ManGoose - Thank you so much for your explanation. Finally, someone with some
answers. You have educated us all and I appreciate your insight. Have
you ever had your head turn involuntarily which results in the pain that
you described? Sometimes, I turn slightly to look at something and
then my head jerks further that expected. Then, I have the searing pain
that everyone has described.
I have the same problem. It first happen to me when i was like 11 (28 now), and it always happens usually when i turn my head fast.
It's a weird burning/shock sensation that starts below my ear (inside skull though) and goes up to the top of the inside of the skull. weird.
Might happen a couple times a year if that, but it's crazy when it does happen.
I was just thinking about it again because i just turned my head quickly to sneeze and the shock/burning sensation happened.
Must be some sort of nerve that is really tight, so when we turn out heads quickly some it doesnt loosen up enough, and it stretches causing the burning etc. i guess i dunno
but i am glad that its not just me.
It's a weird burning/shock sensation that starts below my ear (inside skull though) and goes up to the top of the inside of the skull. weird.
Might happen a couple times a year if that, but it's crazy when it does happen.
I was just thinking about it again because i just turned my head quickly to sneeze and the shock/burning sensation happened.
Must be some sort of nerve that is really tight, so when we turn out heads quickly some it doesnt loosen up enough, and it stretches causing the burning etc. i guess i dunno
but i am glad that its not just me.
Nerves have a mind of their own. Once certain nerves get irritated or fire without certain others firing, it opens a reflex pathway. Most of the reflexes, we don't know. It's entirely possible that what's happening in your case where you feel like your neck turns more than you intended to and then you feel the pain is that - initially you turn your neck, the muscle hits the greater occipital nerve and irritates it, just as the pain fibers send the signal to the brain and you notice it as pain, the nerve also activate a reflex pathway (reflex pathways don't go through the brain so that it can be faster..for obvious reasons, such as hand on stove, etc) that might turn your neck even more. Since reflex pathways are faster than the pain pathway, it would feel as if the neck jerked more and then that caused the burning feeling.
That would be my most plausible guess.
That would be my most plausible guess.
iv had the same thing 4 7 years now it,s the nerve end,s near the brain that gets inflamed im going 4 a eec soon as it starts my panic,s off