How To Treat Tension Headaches – Tension headache is the most common type of headache. Health care providers may call them tension headaches. This headache may feel like pressure on the forehead and temples. There are home remedies for tension headaches, and health care providers can prescribe medications and other treatments that will relieve the pain and tension caused by tension headaches.
A tension headache is a headache that feels like a tight band is wrapped around your head, putting pressure on your forehead and temples. Health care providers may call them tension headaches. There are many factors that cause tension headaches, and you may not be able to avoid all potential triggers. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to prevent tension headaches. If home remedies don’t work, health care providers can provide medications and other treatments to relieve the stress of tension headaches.
How To Treat Tension Headaches
Tension headaches are the most common type of primary headache. Researchers estimate that more than 70% of people suffer from episodic tension headaches. It generally affects more women and people assigned female at birth than men and people assigned male at birth.
Tension Headache (tth)
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A tension headache can cause constant pain and pressure, as if someone is pressing the sides of your head together.
These symptoms may appear slowly. It can last about 30 minutes, but sometimes lasts up to a week. Some people with chronic tension headaches may feel as if they are always dealing with headaches, pain, and tension.
Researchers are still searching for a single cause of tension headaches. Some believe that tension headaches begin when the muscles between the head and neck get stuck, eventually straining the scalp muscles. This muscle wave effect can be caused by stress or dealing with emotional conflict. Other causes of tension headaches include:
Home Remedies: Relief From Tension Type Headaches
Chronic tension headaches that last for weeks and months can affect your quality of life. For example, chronic tension headaches can make it difficult for you to focus on work or family responsibilities because you are always dealing with the stress of tension headaches.
They may perform a computed tomography (CT) scan and a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to check for underlying problems.
Treatments vary depending on the type of tension headache. For example, if you suffer from occasional headaches, your doctor may recommend that you start taking over-the-counter pain relievers such as:
Side effects and complications vary depending on treatment, but recurring headaches are a common potential side effect of taking over-the-counter and/or prescription pain relievers to treat tension headaches.
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A rebound headache or medication overuse headache is a headache that occurs if you use headache medicine too often. Health professionals recommend limiting the use of painkillers to 10 days in a given month.
Stress management may be the most effective way to prevent tension headaches. The most effective stress management tools are those that you can incorporate into your daily life and that make you feel good. Some examples include:
If you’re like most people, you suffer from occasional tension headaches, which you can control with pain relievers and stress reduction. People with chronic tension headaches may need to take antidepressants or participate in therapies such as biofeedback.
Over-the-counter pain relievers can help relieve occasional tension headaches. Home remedies such as applying hot or cold compresses to the head and neck can help.
Scalp Pain And Soreness Causes
A tension headache is not life-threatening, but it may be a sign of a serious medical problem or that an existing problem is getting worse. Talk to a health professional if you suffer from headaches and have:
You should go to the emergency room if you have a sudden, severe headache that gets worse quickly. You should also get immediate medical attention if you have a headache and have:
Tension headaches start in the neck and shoulder muscles as the body deals with stress and other problems. Then you feel a dull pain in your forehead, as if someone grabbed your head with their hands.
If this is your case, you may have a tension headache. It can occur from time to time or it can be constant. In any case, talk to a health professional if you experience symptoms of tension headaches. They will ask questions to find out why you have these symptoms. If stress is the cause, your doctor will also recommend lifestyle changes and other things you can do to reduce stress and prevent tension headaches. In some cases, health care providers may recommend prescription medications or physical therapy. About one in 20 adults suffer from headaches every day, the most common of which is tension headaches. But when is your headache “just a headache” and when is it a sign of something more serious?
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I spoke with Dr. Susan Brunner, medical director of the Headache Program at Weill Cornell Medical College, about what causes tension headaches, how to treat them, and when it makes sense to seek medical care.
We divide headaches into two categories: primary headaches (such as migraines, cluster headaches, and tension-type headaches) and secondary headaches. Secondary headache disorders are headaches caused by another underlying condition that needs to be treated, such as a brain tumor, sinusitis, or even a condition like Lyme disease.
In general, the type of headache that people call a “normal” headache is often a tension headache. The reason we call it a tension headache and not just a tension headache is because stress or tension is not the only cause.
So what causes tension headaches and what are their symptoms? We don’t know exactly what causes tension headaches, they are the most common but least understood headache disorder. What we do know is that people who get it feel pain in the muscles around the head, neck, and shoulders, which is also called pericranial pain. We don’t know if this is the cause of the headache or a reaction to it.
What Is A Tension Headache And How Do I Treat It?
Stress and muscle spasm can trigger a tension headache, but there can also be other causes such as clenched teeth, neck tension, or neck discomfort. Typical symptoms are dull pain in the head and tightness or pressure in the forehead or around the sides of the head.
How do tension headaches differ from migraines or cluster headaches? Tension headaches are usually milder than migraines and cluster headaches. Migraines are usually accompanied by sensitivity to light and sound or nausea and throbbing pain on one side of the head. Tension headaches may be accompanied by some sensitivity to light or sound, but none of these other features.
Usually, tension headaches do not interfere with daily activities unless a person experiences them most days. It can last from 30 minutes to several days. Meanwhile, migraines last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours if left untreated and can make thinking difficult. Without treatment, it usually makes people less productive or can be debilitating.
How to relieve tension headaches? It usually responds to over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen, aspirin, or Tylenol, as well as combination pain relievers that contain caffeine. Just be careful not to regularly use over-the-counter medications more than two or three days a week, as this may lead to more frequent headaches. For some, the pain is mild enough that a simple rest or cup of coffee is enough.
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For chronic tension headaches, daily preventive medications may be prescribed. Some forms of antidepressants and anticonvulsants, as well as biofeedback, have been shown to work well in reducing headache frequency. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.
What is biofeedback and what other alternative treatments are there? Biofeedback is a type of mental and physical therapy that teaches you to control certain body functions such as muscle tension, body temperature, or heart rate so that you can enter a state of relaxation. It is one of the best treatments for tension headaches. Other complementary therapies such as massage, physical therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy can help you relax and relieve tension around your neck and shoulders.
Stress management can also help with prevention. Stretching during the day, not abusing caffeine, getting enough sleep, eating regularly, working on finding a work-life balance – all of these habits can help.
When should you worry about headaches? Any headache that gets progressively worse should be checked by your primary care provider. Also, if you’re 50 or older and you start having headaches for no apparent reason, this is a warning sign: It may be an underlying disorder.
Acetaminophen & Caffeine
Bottom line: If your headaches become more frequent, don’t go away, or you develop other symptoms, see your doctor.
Dr. Susan W. Bruner is an attending neurologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is also the Medical Director of the Headache Program at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Some types of headaches can be managed at home. Other types of headaches require strong help to calm them down. You may not realize that chronic headaches are definitely treatable. “As a neurologist, I was drawn to treating migraines because of the difference it could make,” says neurologist Elizabeth Hartman, MD. “We can help our patients do better.”
“I love treating migraines because it changes people’s lives so much,” agrees pain medicine specialist Angie Rax, MD. Dr. Rax and Dr. Hartmann
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