Headaches

Headaches are a number one problem that causes us pain. For people who suffer from headaches on a steady basis can attest how bad it impacts their lives. From a personal level to a social level, headaches are capable of causing extreme pain both physically and emotionally.

There are many types of headaches that we know of. There are the garden variety types that a couple of aspirin will get rid of it. Migraine headaches are a much worse type of headache. They are very debilitating during the cycle of it. People usually have to lay flat on the bed with no light or noise getting to them. Many times they will become nauseous and even vomit at times. Cluster headaches are another serious type of headache. As the name speaks of itself, the person will get the headache which feels like a tight band around their head and then diving down into one eye with very serious pain. The headaches can last from a few hours to a few weeks. They can stay away for months and then they reappear. Another headache which appears to be the most common and causing a lot of pain is the tension or contraction headache. The muscles in the neck and shoulders tighten and the tightness travels up the neck and around the head.

Science has learned over the years by conducting investigative research that there are very different types of headaches that have been classified into five different categories. The first category is the vascular headache, which refers to swollen blood vessels. A migraine would fit in this category. The second category is the myogenic headache. This is caused from contraction of muscles, so tension headaches would fit in this category. The next category is the cervogenic head pain, which is caused by injury or trauma to the head, neck, shoulders, or spine. The last two categories are the most serious in nature. The traction headache is caused by nerve cells located in the brain are stretched tight from a tumor or a possible hematoma. The inflammatory headache is brought about by serious diseases that affect the spine, neck, ears, and sinuses.

Luckily, we have medications to treat many of these headaches.