Tension Headache

Most of all the pain the patient feels is in this area

Tension headaches are also known as tension-type headaches, stress headaches, or muscle tension headaches. Tension headaches often cause pain on both sides of the head that ranges from mild to moderate. It is not often accompanied by nausea. The duration of the pain can range from 30 minutes to a few hours. Tension headaches can recur for several days. You might be diagnosed with chronic tension headaches if you experience tension headaches more than 15 times a month for at least three consecutive months. Tension headaches are most common among adolescents and young adults. They occur more frequently in women than in men.
See also : Headache

Symptoms

The symptoms of tension headaches include:

• Pain in one or both temples
• Pressure behind the eyes
• Tight muscles in the neck, shoulder, and scalp
• Occasionally tension headaches can cause your eyes to be sensitive to light from the increased pressure exerted on them. The headache pain might also be severe when you move your head in certain ways, like looking down or turning your head from side to side.

Causes

• Dehydration : Drinking enough fluids is essential to regulating the pressure in your head. Our body is mostly made up of water, so water is needed for the healthy functioning of body tissue. Dehydration frequently leads to tension headaches as the brain can temporarily contract when it doesn’t have enough water, exerting pressure on the head. Working out for a long time, high temperatures and vomiting are some factors that can increase the risk of developing a tension headache from dehydration.
• Eye strain : Looking at screens for a long period of time places a lot of stress on the eye muscles as they need to be constantly extended to focus our gaze. Spending hours sitting in front of a computer can cause tension headaches. This is compounded by the stress placed on your temporalis muscles located on the sides of the base of your neck from spending a long time typing in a seated position.
• Emotional stress : Intense feelings of anxiety can cause tension headaches or make them worse. Stress triggers the release of certain chemicals that cause tension headaches. Specific episodes of tension headaches can be related to stressful events going on in your life.
• Skipping meals : Missing a meal can cause tension headaches from the lack of glucose and fluids our brains need to function regularly. When you don’t eat regular meals, your body might be deprived of the energy required to sustain the brain’s normal activity. As our meals also contain some of the fluids required for daily fluid intake, our brains can also be stressed from not having enough fluids. If you want to fast and frequently experience tension headaches from missed meals, please consult a dietician to learn how to gain enough nutrients and fluids even when you are not following your typical meal schedule.
• Temporomandibular Jaw Disorder (TMD) : Temporomandibular jaw disorder, or TMD for short, refers to disorders involving the misalignment of the lower jaw. Symptoms include pain in the muscles located in your cheeks and temples, a clicking or popping sound when you move your jaw, and difficulty with movements like chewing and yawning. The misalignment of the jaw places stress on facial tissue and can frequently cause tension headaches.
• Alcohol : Research shows that alcohol commonly triggers tension headaches in people that experience frequent ones. Alcohol widens the blood vessels in the body, causing blood to flow too quickly and freely. When this happens, it causes intense headaches.

Home Remedies

• Manage your stress levels : Emotional stress is a frequent trigger for tension headaches, so managing your stress levels is an important way to manage your tension headaches. You can add meditation and deep breathing exercises to your daily schedule to relieve the stresses of the day.
• Relax the muscles around your face : Physical and mental relaxation exercises can help to alleviate the pain of tension headaches. Stretching from exercises like pilates and yoga can release the tension from tight face and neck muscles and make the pain from tension headaches less severe. Mental relaxation techniques include consciously visualising and relaxing each of your muscle groups using guided imagery techniques.
• Regulate your screen time : Eye strain is a leading contributor to tension headaches. If you need to sit in front of a computer for a long time, taking regular breaks is important to preventing eye strain. For example, you can try getting up every 30 minutes to stretch or to walk around without looking at a computer or handphone screen.
• Get enough sleep : Sleep deprivation is a frequent tension headache trigger. People who get less than six hours of sleep each night experience more frequent and intense episodes. Waking up often during the night can compromise your ability to get quality sleep, too, resulting in headaches.
• Stay hydrated : As mentioned earlier, drinking lots of fluids is important to maintaining regular brain function and preventing headaches. The recommended daily intake of water for an adult is generally between four to six glasses. However, it can be easy for us to forget we need to drink some water because we might not sense our thirst well when we age. Placing a beaker of water next to your laptop as you work, for example, can be a good way of reminding yourself to get enough water throughout the day.
• Massage : A massage helps relieve muscle tension and reduce stress. It is most beneficial for the muscles in the back of your head, neck, and shoulders. As pressure is applied to your muscles and soft tissues by a massage therapist, you will experience benefits such as headache relief and prevention.
• Cold or hot compresses :
  • Using a cold or hot compress can help reduce the pain of your tension headache. Use an ice pack, wrapped ice, or frozen vegetables for a cold compress, but use a cloth to protect your skin. Put the compress on your head, temples, or neck to decrease inflammation, reduce nerve conduction, and constrict blood vessels.
  • For a hot compress, use a heating pad, a hot-water bottle, or a hot towel. A hot bath or shower will have the same effect, so consider that, as well. Since tension headaches are often stress-induced, the heat will relax your muscles and offer relief.

Warnings

In most cases tension headaches are mild conditions that resolve on their own and do not require medical intervention. However, you should see a doctor promptly for your headaches if you have any of the following:

• Headaches that are steadily becoming more and more painful
• Headaches that increase with coughing or with movement
• Headaches accompanied by a high fever and/or vomiting
• Headaches when you have cancer and/or an impaired immune system