What Kind of Headache?
You feel a pounding headache coming on, but what kind of headache is it? Are you aware that there are many different types, each with a unique set of causes and symptoms? The most common types of headaches include:
Tension-type Headaches
There are two types, episodic and chronic. Someone with chronic headaches often wakes up and goes to sleep with a headache and feels a constant tightness or ache in the head and neck areas.
Migraine Headaches
A vascular-type headache, migraines are debilitating and often are accompanied by nausea/vomiting and acute sensitivity to sound and light. Women suffer more from migraines than men, possibly due to frequent hormonal changes.
Cluster Headaches
Occurring more often in men, cluster headaches may actually be the most severe of all headaches. They usually only last 30-60 minutes, however, they may recur several times throughout the day. Chronic smoking and alcohol use often contribute to the onset of cluster headaches.
Hormone Headaches
More frequent among women, hormone headaches usually occur in conjunction with PMS and menstruation. Women who take birth control pills may also experience hormone headaches with greater frequency. Symptoms are similar to those associated with a migraine – a one-sided, throbbing headache that includes light/noise sensitivity.
Rebound Headaches
Caused by the over use/abuse of over-the-counter and prescribed headache remedies that often contain caffeine. Headache sufferers tend to use the medications in higher dosages or more frequently than prescribed, causing a headache “rebound effect.”
Do you know someone who complains frequently of headaches? Based on the success our practice enjoys with all types of headaches, improperly moving bones of the upper neck are common culprits. Click here to take this simple at home test and see if reduced range of motion in the neck could be involved. And then direct them to our practice!
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