M54.81 – Occipital Neuralgia

M54.81 Diagnosis Code: Occipital Neuralgia

‍Clinical Description:

• M54.81 is the ICD-10-CM code that corresponds to a diagnosis of occipital neuralgia.
• Occipital neuralgia is characterized by intense, sharp, and jabbing pain in the back of the head and neck and sometimes behind the eyes.
• It's often confused with migraines or other headaches due to similar symptoms.
• The pain typically comes from irritation or injury to the occipital nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord to the scalp.
• Causes may include trauma, tension, or inflammation in the neck muscles.

Is M54.81 Billable?

The M54.81 code can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.

Clinical Information

• Occipital neuralgia often results in a reduced quality of life due to the severity of the pain.
• Physical stress, poor posture, and repetitive neck movements can exacerbate the condition.
• Diagnosis involves a physical examination, patient history, and sometimes, nerve blocks.
• Treatment typically includes pain management through medication, physical therapy, and in severe cases, nerve blocks or surgery.

Synonyms Include:

• Neuralgia, occipital
• Occipital headache
• C2 neuralgia
• Arnold's neuralgia
• Nervus occipitalis neuralgia

Other ICD-10 Codes Commonly Used for Occipital Neuralgia

• G44.841 - Chronic migraine without aura, intractable, with status migrainosus
• G50.0 - Trigeminal neuralgia
• G44.1 - Vascular headache, not elsewhere classified
• G43.109 - Migraine without aura, not intractable, without status migrainosus
• M54.2 - Cervicalgia
• M53.1 - Cervicocranial syndrome
• M54.6 - Pain in the thoracic spine
• G44.89 - Other specified headache syndromes
• M54.30 - Sciatica, unspecified side