What are common types of headaches?
There are over 150 types of headaches, with most categorized as either primary or secondary.
Primary headaches aren’t associated with other medical conditions but occur due to issues with pain-sensitive structures in your head. Common types of primary headaches include:
- Migraines
- Tension headaches
- Cluster headaches
- Hypnic headaches
On the other hand, secondary headaches are a symptom of a disease that activates the pain-sensitive nerves of your head. Minor or severe conditions can cause a secondary headache. Common types of secondary headaches include:
- Ice cream headaches or “brain freeze”
- Sinus headaches
- Spinal headaches
- Thunderclap headaches
- Medication overuse headaches
If your headache causes sudden, intense pain, different from a typical headache, you may be experiencing severe complications, such as brain bleeding, and should seek help immediately.
What causes headaches?
The pain you feel from a headache results from signals interacting in your brain, blood vessels, and nerves. It’s unknown what activates your nerves that affect your muscles and blood vessels, sending pain signals to your brain.
However, several things can trigger a headache, such as:
Illness
Headaches typically result from illnesses, such as sinus, throat, and ear infections, as well as colds and fevers.
Your environment
Exposure to secondhand smoke, cleaning chemicals or perfume, and allergens can cause headaches. Stress, pollution, loud noises, lighting, and weather changes can also trigger headaches.
Stress
Stress can lead to skipping meals, excessive alcohol use, changes in your sleep patterns, and overuse of medication. These factors can all contribute to the onset of headaches.
Genetics
You may be more at risk of developing headaches or migraines if they run in your family. You have a 70% chance of experiencing frequent headaches if both of your parents do, and a 25%-50% chance if just one of your parents has a history of headaches.
Though these factors can lead to headaches, the direct cause usually is tightness in your neck and shoulders. With 80% of headaches originating from your neck, this tightness can cause misalignments in the vertebrae of your neck, resulting in pain.
How are headaches treated?
Specializing in chiropractic services, Dr. Whitehouse assesses pressure points in your neck, back, and spine to identify where your headaches are centralized.
Once he identifies the cause of the headache, he typically massages your neck and shoulders to release tension. He then completes a chiropractic adjustment to realign the vertebrae in your neck.
Rather than offering a temporary relief from your symptoms, chiropractic treatment helps eliminate the cause of your headaches, allowing you to live a pain-free life.
Call Eric Whitehouse DC to learn more about your treatment options, or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment today.
