[Laupala]

I feel a bit ridiculous even starting this thread, but I think it'll make me feel better to just get it out there, so here it goes. I was undergoing treatment by a sort or chinese medicine-esque practitioner (who has done things that I think have been helpful) this afternoon. I was lying on a table and he was doing various accupressure things to get my neck to relax. I told him that the headache I had hadn't changed much, and pointed to where it was, and then he strongly tapped it. Imagine cocking your wrist back and then tapping with your pointer finger fairly strongly.

I've had this headache, in it's current form, since mid-May, after hitting my head on a heavy water balloon by stepping up quickly and hitting it. It seems to me such a hit should be inconsequential, but I've had a headache where I hit it since then (not constantly, sometimes the headache moves to other spots, but that's been the predominant point since May). This is where he strongly tapped. I think I've gone through the startle response cycle and have calmed down, but it still hurts there more than it did before.

I know it seems absurd for such small impacts to be causing these symptoms, but that's my experience, and I don't think that it's entirely anxiety, because overall my anxiety this summer has been better than normal, save some dips here and there.

I guess my questions are, what could possibly be going on to cause such long-lasting pain from such a relatively minor bump, and is it possible for a strong tap like this to cause damage that would cause this pain? I find it hard to believe that my brain has been damaged by such a tap (or even the water balloon), but my constant experience of pain suggests to me that something is happening, perhaps damage to an already damaged/pain sensitive skull/meninges?

I've been on a relatively good streak, and don't want to be derailed by this before starting up a rigorous research assistantship in a couple weeks. I know part of that derailment is caused by my reaction to it, but I guess I'm looking for an honest assesment of what, other than my anxiety, could be going on to cause this pain.

Thanks. I know for those responding to threads like these it must be tiresome addressing the same points over and over.

[Mark in Idaho]

Have you ever considered a hypnotherapist to help you deal with these pains ? I would not be surprised if these are 'memorized' pains, sort of like flashbacks.

Other than an injury to any of the many layers of skin, tissues and nerves that are exterior to the skull, this strong tap did not do any damage.

[Jomar]

Have you tried to ice the area where he tapped? as well as your neck?
Have you ever had a neck/s cervical spine MRI just to make sure no injury there?

Not sure if you ever looked into upper cervical adjusting?

[Laupala]

Thanks for the responses. I have actually just started hypnotherapy. Gone 3 times so far, getting better at getting into a trance state, and was feeling a little better/more positive the past couple weeks, so it might be helping.

Haven't iced the head or neck yet today, will try that after dinner. I've been seeing a NUCCA chiro for a while, been in alignment since February - didn't notice any difference really, but keep going back to check to make sure it's still in alignment. I've also had a neck MRI, which didn't show anything.

No one I've gone to (and I've seen A LOT of different people) can seem to figure out these headaches, or why they're generally so localized to where I've had bumps/hits, or why they stick around so long. I know my anxiety is still an issue, but it's also A LOT better than it was a year and a half ago, but the headaches remain.

The main culprit was a hit last summer (about 4 months post-concussion), walking down my basement stairs slowly I hit my head on the ceiling, sort of broadly hitting the middle-center of the top of my head. I wasn't dazed or confused afterwards (although developed some dizziness afterwards that's persisted, but gotten much better). I haven't felt as good as I did before that bump since. My headaches are now mostly concentrated around this area (slightly shifted to the right side after the water balloon). My reading/screen difficulties got much worse than they were after that bump too. This is what precipitated going on medical leave.

I don't think it was another concussion, and I guess it's useless to think about it, so I've stopped trying to label it as concussive or sub-concussive. It seems I'm just extra susceptible to these bumps, and often (but not always) notice a decrease in reading/screen abilities. It's clear that most of these small bumps (tap included) couldn't possibly cause brain damage, or even exacerbate it, so I'm just stumped as to what's going on. My neck has been treated by umpteen people, and some have suggested a link between it and vision, but nothing has dramatically helped.

I'm losing my train of thought here, so I'll quit rambling!

[Mark in Idaho]

If you believe a water balloon caused injury, you need to ask your hypnotherapist to work on that idea. Again, maybe some neck strain and startle, but that is about it.

Does the NUCCA check anything below C-1 and C-2 ?

[Laupala]

It just seems to me that slight neck strain and startle wouldn't persist for months and cause a relapse in other visual symptoms as well, especially when emotionally I feel like I bounced back fairly quickly relative to other bumps I've had. It was a heavy water balloon, and my head hit it pretty fast. I get that it sounds ridiculous, and most of me believes it is ridiculous, but my subjective experience suggests that maybe something else happened.

The headache where he tapped is a little worse today, but not too bad, so that's good. It did feel like a pretty hard tap, but I'm doing a decent job not getting too caught up in negative thinking. I'm so frustrated by these practitioners who aren't careful when I'm literally putting my head into their hands!

The NUCCA chiro doesn't really do much below C-1/C-2. I've just started seeing another chiropractor, not for adjustments, but for active release massage, initially just for my running-related hamstring injury that predates the concussion, but he found somethings in the neck/shoulders he thinks he can help. I'm somewhat hopeful, he did a better job explaining and showing all the various things wrong with my body than any other practitioner I've talked to.