Greater occipital neuralgia (GON), facial pains and other focal sources of chronic pain are disorders that, on top of the significant impact they can cause (1, 2) are often perceived as making other primary headache syndromes (eg migraine) more refractory to treatment (3–5). GON has often been implicated in headache syndromes associated with tenderness in the suboccipital area (1, 6, 7). Injection of local anaesthetics and corticosteroids into the region of the occipital nerve (ON) are usually the treatment of choice for GON (8, 9). Neurosurgical