10 Causes of Occipital Neuralgia
Cause #7: Radiation Treatment
Radiation treatment or radiotherapy is therapy that involves the use of ionizing radiation to control or kill malignant cells usually delivered using a linear accelerator. Radiation treatment may be curative for some cancers if it remains localized. It can also be used as part of an adjuvant therapy to prevent the recurrence of a tumor after removal through surgery.
While radiation therapy is painless, it can cause side effects such as pain in area surrounding the treated region. This is due to the swelling causing compression of the nerves. Therefore, the compression on the nerves can be seen, especially among Hodgkin’s and other cancer survivors who have undergone radiation treatment to the neck resulting in occipital neuralgia.
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