A pain in the eye.
A 38-year-old woman presented with chronic left retro-orbital pain and photophobia. Palpation of the left occipital prominence revealed tenderness in the area of the greater occipital nerve and reproduced the eye pain. The diagnosis of cervicogenic headache was confirmed by symptom resolution following left greater occipital nerve blockade. The functional association between the greater occipital nerve and the trigeminal nerve provides a potential mechanism for this case of cervicogenic eye pain.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Karen R
KR
Armbrust
Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.
Gregory S
GS
Kosmorsky
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Electronic address: mikelee@umn.edu.
Michael S
MS
Lee
Department of Neurology & Neurotherapeutics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
Deborah I
DI
Friedman
D000328:Adult; D001340:Autonomic Nerve Block; D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D058447:Eye Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013508:Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000601:surgery; D020795:Photophobia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D051298:Post-Traumatic Headache / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020433:Trigeminal Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis
cervicogenic headache; eye pain; greater occipital nerve; headache; occipital nerve; trigeminal nerve