Headaches: understanding cause and treatment

Tension Headaches = muscle tension, neromuscular triggers, and increased inter cranial blood pressure

Causes:
Injury of the muscles, tendons, or ligaments of the head and neck
Emotional stress brings on muscle tension
Joint restriction can irritate ligaments and cause muscle spasm
Postural alignment problems produces muscle tension
Eyestrain causes chronic muscle contraction
Poor ergonomics and repetitive movement leads to muscle tension, joint fixation, & misalignment

Vascular Headaches including Migraines & Cluster = pulsing pain from inter cranial blood vessel dilation

Causes:
Food – can include cheese, chocolate, tea, coffee, or alcohol
Hormonal shifts – pregnancy, PMS, or menopause
Other unidentified triggers

Sinus Headaches

Causes:
Colds, allergies, sinusitis

Chemical Headaches

Causes:
Low blood sugar
PMS
Dehydration – alcohol intake or exercise without water

Traction – Inflammatory Headaches “frequency less than 2%”

Causes:
Injury to or infection of the central nervous system
Encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, a tumor, or an aneurysm


Common Medical Treatments

Avoid triggers after identifying patterns in a headache journal
Medication
Tension headaches, mostly non-steroidal anti–inflammatory drugs (NSAID's)
Migraine headaches, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), beta blockers, and calcium blockers.

Massage

Massage can help by:
Releasing muscular trigger points and muscle spasm
Reducing tension
Restoring joint mobility
Increasing blood circulation
Releasing Stress