Occipital neuralgia as the only presenting symptom of foramen magnum meningioma.
BACKGROUND
Occipital neuralgia (ON) is a condition characterized by a paroxysmal stabbing pain in the area of the greater or lesser occipital nerves; it is usually regarded by clinicians as idiopathic. Some have suggested that ON can be induced by trauma or injury of the occipital nerves or their roots, but tumor has rarely been reported as a cause of ON.


METHODS
We report herein a case of foramen magnum meningioma in a 55-year-old woman who presented with ON triggered by head motion as the only symptom without any signs of myelopathy.


CONCLUSIONS
This case indicates that it is important to consider the underlying causes of ON. Precise neurologic and radiological evaluations such as cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging are needed.
Kim
Nam-Hee
NH
Department of Neurology, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
Yang
Seung-Yeob
SY
Koo
Joon-Bum
JB
Jeong
Sang-Wuk
SW