What’s Causing Your Tension Headache?
April 8th, 2015
If you suffer from frequent headaches, you could be suffering from a tension headache. Tension headaches are the most common kind of headaches in adults and are also referred to as stress headaches.
Some people might underestimate the debilitating power of a tension headache, but the severity is not to be underestimated. It often feels like a band of pressure around your forehead and circles around to incredibly tense muscles in lower part of your neck. Frequent tension headaches are those felt less than two weeks out of the month, whereas chronic tension headaches are felt almost daily and for prolonged periods of time.
Tension headaches are painful, but not knowing what causes them makes them even harder to deal with.
Finding the Source of Your Tension Headache
There is no single cause for a tension headache and it is not an inherited trait that runs in families, like migraine headaches. The muscle tension can be caused by many things, including:
- Anxiety
- Emotional or mental stress, including depression
- Fatigue, including temple or muscle fatigue
- Hunger or poor diet
- Inadequate rest
- Pain in the jaw or neck which leads to bracing
- Overexertion
- Poor posture
Look Out for These Symptoms
The symptoms for tension headaches vary, but often include:
- Chronic fatigue
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Disturbed concentration
- General muscle aching
- Headache occurring later in the day
- Irritability
- Mild to moderate pain or pressure affecting the front, top or sides of the head
- Mild sensitivity to light or noise
Let Raleigh Facial Pain Center Help Prevent Your Tension Headaches
When you are at a loss, turn to an expert to help you determine the cause of your tension headaches. Tension headaches are diagnosed based on the patient’s reported history of the headache and physical examination, and there is no better team of specialists for the job than those at Raleigh Facial Pain Center. Call us at (919) 781-6600 or contact us online for more information.
