Causes
Many questions about headshaking remain unanswered, and research into it is ongoing. It’s thought that headshaking results from trigeminal nerve pain (known as trigeminalmediated headshaking/trigeminal neuralgia) which frequently involves the branch of the trigeminal nerve supplying the nasal cavity. Occasionally a physical cause of the pain is identified but, more often than not, the precise cause of the pain cannot be found, meaning that the vast majority of cases are termed ‘idiopathic’ (cause unknown). A trigger factor generally precipitates headshaking and can include certain climatic conditions (bright lights, warmth, cold, wind, rain and so on), environmental allergens, insects, and other possibilities.