Let’s talk about the most common types of headaches and some tips on how to manage them
Tension Headache – Anyone can get these styles of headaches and the most common cause will be stress, eye strain, or poor posture. They are known to last from 30 minutes up to several hours. If you’ve had one before you know you feel a dull ache sensation across your head as well as tenderness and sensitivity around your neck, forehead, scalp, or shoulder muscles. As chiropractors deal with poor posture, we are fantastic at helping these particular styles of headaches.
Allergy or Sinus headaches – These occur as a result of an allergic reaction generally focused in your sinus area, in the front of your head, and your nose. You would most commonly have congestion, itching, runny nose, fevers, or swelling in the face and they can last for several days to even weeks if not treated correctly. Having a strong immune system plays an important part in helping prevent these types of headaches. Look to your diet and vitamins to help this. (Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and zinc are great ways to boost your immune system) However, if taking anti-histamines does not help this headache and maybe it is not a sinus headache…
Cluster Headache – These are very uncommon however around 4 in 1,000 people experience a cluster headache, with men more commonly experiencing them than women. These are characterized by a burning and piercing pain behind one eye or one side of the face at a time. You may have swelling or redness on that side. Chiropractic care is quite beneficial for cluster headaches. Some people get episodic cluster headaches and some people get chronic cluster headaches, it just depends on how often you have it and there is a suggestion that they are more common in spring and autumn suggesting possibly allergic causes. In some cases, painkillers don’t help cluster headaches and sometimes it’s a great way for us to diagnose with you have a cluster headache or maybe an early onset migraine.
And that brings this on to the next most common headache
Migraines – In the clinic, I regularly see migraine-style headaches and they are much more severe than all other types of headaches. The pain usually occurs in the face and neck, throbbing in one area. Sensitivity to light and sound is known to occur as well as nausea, distorted vision sparkles in your vision or temporary blindness and/or balance issues. Triggers for migraines include emotional and physical stress, certain foods, bad sleep patterns, missing meals, hormonal changes or can even be triggered by bright lights and noises. As a chiropractor, we see a lot of dysfunction in the upper cervical spine and some cases the cranial nerves. If experiencing migraines make sure you are drinking water to keep hydrated, resting in a dark/ quiet room may ease the migraine as well as paracetamol or ibuprofen.
FACT caffeine can help you with the relief of migraine attacks!
An important fact to know is strokes can mimic migraine headaches so my recommendation is to not diagnose yourself with migraine headaches, please consult with me in our chiropractic clinic as a treatment for this is important as the sooner you get it the better the results.
Hormonal Headache – This type of headache starts before or during a woman’s menstrual cycle, and about 60% of women with migraines will experience menstrual migraines. Common symptoms include a dull throbbing or severe pulsing headache, sensitivity to light, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. Very similar to a migraine so if you are getting these irregularly then it’s probably just a regular migraine, not a hormonal migraine. Some remedies that they recommend on top of analgesics would be relaxation techniques such as yoga and acupuncture as well as making sure your diet doesn’t include any triggers for migraines.
To finalize everything, the best way to prevent headaches is to make sure you’re getting enough sleep, enough to eat, that you’re staying hydrated, and then you’re getting regular exercise. Manage your stress and this will reduce the severity of your headaches as well as the frequency. As a chiropractor, we see regularly that if you look after your spinal function and posture verity and the frequency of your headaches will decrease.
One of those common mistakes I see the treating headaches is just using over-the-counter medications as a form of treatment. While these might give you a temporary relief they may not fix the problem… in the case of some spinal headaches or as I mentioned, migraine headaches you might have an underlying problem that needs proper medical attention.
I hope you are nowe able to undetstand the types of headaches you may be experiencing- If you, or somebody you know experiences frequent heachahes please send this article for them to read and let them know here at Robina Chiropractic Wellness Centre we specialize in the treatment of spinal conditions that may cause headaches.
Dr Andrew talks about these 5 types of headches on his Chiro Couch- You can give the video a watch in the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTCMSgZnvV8&t=13s
If you were interested at having a look at the many other types of headaches head to the link below, this may help you understand the types of headaches you are experiencing.