What is a headache?
A headache describes pain in your head or upper neck. This type of discomfort can impact one side of your head, radiate from one spot to another, or feel as though you have a tight band wrapped around your head.
When you have a headache, your brain itself doesn’t hurt; your blood vessels, nerves, brain chemicals, and tissue surrounding your brain are transmitting pain signals. You can get more than 300 different types of headaches, and they can be a chronic condition.
Depending on the cause of your headache, it falls into one of two types: Primary or secondary.
What is a primary headache?
A primary headache develops because of issues or overactivity in the pain-sensitive areas of your head. These structures include the blood vessels and nerves surrounding your skull, chemicals in your brain, and the muscles in your neck and head.
The most common primary headaches are migraines, cluster, tension, and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia (TAC). Lifestyle factors often trigger these headaches, such as:
- Changes in sleep habits
- Poor posture
- Stress
- Intense activity or exercise
- Missed meals
Primary headaches can also be caused by consuming certain foods or food additives.
What is a secondary headache?
When you have a secondary headache, your pain is because another condition has activated the pain-sensitive nerves in your head. The most common types of secondary headaches are sinus, spinal, and ice cream headaches.
Common issues that can cause secondary headaches include:
- Ear infection
- Acute or chronic sinusitis
- Dehydration
- High blood pressure
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Stroke, brain aneurysm, or tumor
You can also have secondary headaches because of anxiety disorders or panic attacks.
How do you treat a headache?
Dr. Forsythe and Dr. Oppong have extensive experience managing headache conditions and work closely with you to identify the source of your pain.
Depending on your symptoms and headache history, they might recommend a variety of therapies, including:
- Medication management
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Occipital or peripheral nerve blocks
For chronic migraines, Dr. Forsythe and Dr. Oppong might suggest Botox® injections. This preventive migraine therapy uses 31 injections in key head and neck muscle areas to reduce your migraine frequency.
Dr. Forsythe and Dr. Oppong might also recommend lifestyle changes to help manage your headaches. These approaches often include diet and exercise, stress management techniques, and massage therapy.
To find pain management solutions for your chronic headaches, call Innovative Pain Solutions Centers or schedule an appointment online today.
