Fast Facts about Tension Headaches
Tension headaches occur more frequently that any other type of headache.
Ninety percent of women suffer tension headaches making them more prone to the headaches than men. Only about seventy percent of men suffer these headaches
Tension headaches are most common in women who are between the ages of 30 and 39
Tension headaches generally start in the morning and get worse as the day progresses
Those who experience tension headaches often say they feel as if they have "a tight band around the head"
Tension headaches cause pain at both the bottom of the skull and back of the neck.
Episodic Tension Headaches
The most common tension headache is known as an episodic tension headache. An episodic tension headache is typically short in duration, only lasting a few minutes to a few hours. These headaches generally occur on no more than 15 days in any given month. Symptoms include tenderness in the neck and scalp muscles. More than 60 percent of those suffering episodic tension headaches say they experience this type of pain.
Chronic Tension Headaches
What happens when you suffer tension headaches more than 15 days each month? Instead of classifying your condition as episodic, it is become a chronic condition. Chronic tension headaches are the diagnosis when the pain occurs more than 15 days per month in three consecutive months. Although chronic tension headaches last about the same length of time as episodic tension headaches, the pain often recurs on a daily or almost daily basis. Although they are not as common as episodic tension headaches, two times as many women suffer from chronic tension headaches as compared to male sufferers.
Depression and Tension Headaches
Depression and headaches are two conditions that seem to go hand in hand. It has been found that people who suffer from chronic tension headaches are more likely to be anxious or depressed than people who don’t suffer frequent headaches. However, doctors still debate whether the headaches bring on the depression or if the depression brings on the headaches. For this reason, it is often suggested that people who suffer from chronic tension headaches also consider some type of treatment for depression. It has been found that once they received proper depression treatment, the headaches will become less frequent and less painful.
Causes of Tension Headache
- Stress
- Missing meals
- Bad posture
- Too little exerciseAnxiety and depression
- Hormonal changes in women
- Rebound affect from taking too many headache medications
- Grinding the teeth during sleep
Treating Tension Headache
There are a variety of ways to treat tension headaches. Treatment can be as easy as eating something if you have missed a meal. Sometimes, if you are able to get yourself out of a stressful situation you will find your headache subsides. If you have tried situational treatments and you still hurt, you might try a common over-the-counter medication like aspirin, Advil, Excedrin or Tylenol. If you still don’t get relief, your doctor can prescribe a prescription headache medicine. However, be careful when taking a prescription painkiller because over use can cause the medicine to loose its effectiveness as your body adjusts to the medicine. Even worse, if you take too many painkillers too often, you can get what is called a rebound headache.
Alternative Remedies
If you aren’t fond of taking medications, there is research being conducted to find alternate ways to relieve headaches. Acupuncture and aromatherapy are two of these alternative headache remedies.
One alternate to medication is acupuncture. This form of treatment has been found to relieve the pain of tension headaches. If you are interested in acupuncture for your headaches, visit the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture web site to locate a doctor who practices acupuncture in your area.
Aromatherapy is another practice that has been found to help treat tension headaches. The easiest most effective scent to use is lavender oil, as you can apply it directly onto your skin's various pulse points. Other scents which have been found helpful to headache sufferers are peppermint and ginger. You might want to experiment with these scents to find out which works best for your tension headache.
