About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffSpinal headaches occur in up to 30 percent of those who undergo a spinal tap (lumbar puncture) or spinal anesthesia. Both procedures require a puncture of the tough membrane that surrounds the spinal cord and, in the lower spine, lumbar and sacral nerve roots.
During a spinal tap, a sample of cerebrospinal fluid is withdrawn from your spinal canal. During spinal anesthesia, medication is injected into your spinal canal to numb the nerves in the lower half of your body. If spinal fluid leaks through the tiny puncture site, you may develop a spinal headache.
Most spinal headaches — also known as post-lumbar puncture headaches — resolve on their own with no treatment. However, spinal headaches lasting 24 hours or more may need treatment.
- Sun C, et al. Post-lumbar puncture headache. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Johnson KS, et al. Lumbar puncture: Technique; indications; contraindications; and complications in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Postdural (post-lumbar) puncture headache. International Headache Society. http://ihs-classification.org/en/02_klassifikation/03_teil2/07.02.01_nonvascular.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Primary headache disorders, including migraine. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/headache/detail_headache.htm#142883138. Accessed Dec. 9, 2009.
- Adverse effects of neuraxial analgesia and anesthesia for obstetrics. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 11, 2009.
- Post-lumbar puncture and other low-pressure headaches. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch216/ch216e.html. Accessed Dec. 9, 2009.
- Swanson JW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 23, 2009.
Find Mayo Clinic on