The headache that a majority of us experience in our lifetime is a tension headache. Tension type headaches are the most common occurring headache. They can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 7 days. Most people have these headaches rarely, while other people have them every day of their life. People who experience them more than 15 days per month are considered to have chronic headaches. Chronic tension headaches will often persist for many years. Tension headaches are more common in women than in men. Researchers are still looking for the actual cause of tension headaches. In the past these types of headaches were known as muscle contraction headache, psychogenic headache, depressive headache, essential headache and ordinary headache. Some headache specialists feel that tension-type headache is the result of changes in certain chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters such as serotonin and endorphins. Neurotransmitter changes are also linked to migraine headaches. It is believed that the change in these neurotransmitters activates the brain's pain pathways, and somehow short-circuits the brain's ability to stop the pain. Many researchers believe that migraine headaches and tension-type headaches are related. Successful treatment of migraine headaches using Neuromuscular principles supports this theory.
There are two classes of tension-type headaches: Episodic and Chronic. Episodic headaches usually occur less than 15 days per month.They are brief in duration, lasting a few minutes to several hours. Patients who have more and more frequent episodic headaches are considered to be at higher risk to develop chronic tension-type headaches later in their lives. People who have tension headaches more that 15 days per month are classified as Chronic headache sufferers. These are often people that you meet who have a headache almost every day. Although they are less common than episodic tension-headache, they occur twice as often in women as in men. Chronic tension headaches last about as long as episodic, but occur on a daily basis. It is believed that in some people depression and anxiety may cause chronic tension type headache. This would make sense since these disorders have been shown to be related to changes in neurotransmitters in the brain. Some people believe that chronic tension headaches are actually just a form of chronic migraine headache. Both types of headaches are believed to be episodic headaches when the pain pathway of the brain has been overrun, and both show similar signs of changes in the neurotransmitters in the brain. Most people describe these tension types of headaches as a feeling of tightness, pressure, or band-like constriction around the head. They can also cause pain in the back of the neck at the base of the skull. In the most extreme form, tension headaches may feel like a hooded cape has been clamped down over the head and shoulders. The pain is usually mild to moderate in intensity. This will obviously vary from person to person. Many people find that these headaches occur when they first awaken in the morning or towards the head of the day when they have experienced a lot of stress at work or at home. Some tension headache sufferers will also experience pain in the jaw or ears. Other symptoms can include: tenderness in the scalp, neck and shoulder muscles, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating. Tension headaches are not usually accompanied by visual disturbances, like migraines. Sufferers don't usually experience symptoms such as vomiting, nausea or auras. Tension headache pain does not get worse with exercise as it does with a migraine headache.
There are a number of possible triggers for tension-type headaches including: depression and anxiety, lack of sleep, stress, hypoglycemia, lack of exercise, medications for illness such as high blood pressure or depression, and overuse of headache medication. Grinding and clenching of the teeth are briefly mentioned in the literature of headache studies. This symptom is actually far more prevalent that originally believed. In addition, it lead us to further questions about the relationship of the TMJ (jaw joint), teeth and muscles of the head and neck and their impact upon headache pain. New developments in headache treatment using neuromuscular dentistry have had very good success.
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