Headache and beryllium needle Headache is a common and frequent clinical disease, and there are many diseases that cause headache, such as hypertension, cerebral arteriosclerosis, and strain of neck muscles. Here I will mainly talk about the headache caused by occipital nerve compression due to muscle strain, according to the statistics, about 10-20% of headaches are caused by this. The headache caused by occipital nerve entrapment is a vascular-neurological headache in Western medicine, but in Chinese medicine, it is mostly caused by stagnation of qi in the meridians and strain. Headaches caused by occipital nerve entrapment are mostly spontaneous and are especially obvious when fatigue and emotional stress are present. It is often manifested as posterior neck pain, one-sided migraine, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The pain attacks are often accompanied by local muscle spasms, and the head and neck movements are limited, often to the posterior lateral deviation, due to the pulling of the spasming muscles. Physical examination often reveals pressure pain in the posterior occipital area about 2 cm next to the midline, and also in the lower third of the posterior head. Each pressure point radiates to the cervical-occipital region, and sometimes there is hypersensitivity or hyperalgesia in the occipital nerve innervation area, and sometimes striated nodules can be found. Why does occipital nerve entrapment cause headache? This is due to its anatomical location. The occipital greater nerve originates from the posterior branch of the cervical 2 nerve and travels upward around the joints of the first and second cervical vertebrae, next to the external occipital ramus, the highest two bony prominences at the back of the head, through the superficial fascia of the cephalic semispinalis and oblique muscles, and distributes to the skin of the occipital neck. The occipital nerve branches are large and intertwined into a network. Long-term ambulation and low head work, neck muscle spasm, superficial fascia hypertrophy, inflammatory exudation, adhesions, can compress the occipital nerve. Secondly, myofasciitis of the neck muscles, especially the trapezius muscle, can also lead to compression of the occipital nerve and produce pain in the innervation area. Again, the occipital nerve is wrapped around the articular process of the second cervical vertebra (i.e. atlantoaxial joint) and can be stretched or injured when the atlantoaxial joint is dislocated or subluxed, causing pain. What is beryllium needle? What are the treatment characteristics? Beryllium acupuncture comes from one of the nine needles in Chinese acupuncture. Compared with ordinary acupuncture, it has a slightly thicker needle body and a blunt blade at the tip, which makes it easy to enter the skin. It is different from the silver needles we routinely use and has a higher intensity of stimulation. General acupuncture treatment for occipital neuralgia often requires two to three sessions. Usually a course of treatment is seven times. It takes a long time and the efficacy is not sure. Beryllium acupuncture for this disease usually requires two to three times, each treatment takes half an hour, and the treatment is done as you go. Its treatment mechanism is based on the distribution of meridians and tendons, taking points according to the evidence, loosening the adhesions of the separated fascia, releasing its pressure on the meridians, allowing the flow of qi and blood, and achieving the purpose of curing headache. In recent years, we have used this mechanism to treat diseases caused by chronic soft tissue injuries with more certain efficacy, not only for treating headaches caused by occipital nerve compression, but also for treating diseases caused by nerve compression in the shoulder, hip and lumbar region, with an efficiency of over 90%.