Spinal headaches typically occur once the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal nerves seeps out, triggering the pressure inside the skull to drop. A spinal headache is characterized as a harsh one that tends to increase in severity if the individual is standing up and can be accompanied by dizziness, nausea, stiffness of the neck, difficulty seeing clearly, vomiting, light sensitivity, difficulty hearing and uncomfortable sensation of pressure in the head.
There are four major causes of spinal headaches – spinal anesthesia, trauma to the spine or brain, spinal taps and spinal diverticulum development. By enrolling in a first aid course, you will learn how to properly manage these causes of spinal headaches.
Spinal anesthesia
Take note that spinal anesthesia is administered into the spinal canal during certain medical procedures that require only half of the lower body to be anesthetized. A puncture is created within the membrane of the spinal cord or dura mater. This might allow the cerebrospinal fluid to leak out, thus resulting to a spinal headache. Take note that spinal anesthesia is a type of lower body anesthesia that is typically administered in the spinal column without puncturing the spinal membrane. This can cause a spinal headache if during the administration, the needle passed accidentally via the spinal membrane.
Spinal taps
Some individuals who undergo a spinal tap or lumbar puncture can suffer from a spinal headache that occurs between 12 hours up to five days after the procedure. During a spinal tap, a long needle is inserted in between the two of the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back and into the spinal canal to extract a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid for testing. Once the procedure is finished, the fluid can leak out of the puncture site that was made in the spinal membrane, thus leading to a spinal headache.
Spinal or brain trauma
A spinal headache can develop among individuals who sustained injuries to the spinal column or brain that results to tears in the spinal membrane, thus allowing the spinal fluid to leak out. Trauma is likely to occur during sports if the individual is injured or during vehicular accidents. This is why if injury to the spinal cord is suspected, it must be checked by a doctor. In addition, those who undergo surgery on the spine or brain can suffer from spinal headache as a side effect of the procedure.
Spinal diverticulum
Spinal diverticulum develops when a part of the spinal cord membrane bulges out, usually close next to a region of the spinal cord in which a spinal nerve exits the main cord. Take note that this diverticulum can steadily leak cerebrospinal fluid, causing a spinal headache that is often difficult to diagnose. Even though this condition is rare, it is quite common among individuals who suffer from connective tissue diseases.