Headaches are a common discomfort that most people will face at one point or another. But while some headaches occasionally come and go, many people live with chronic headaches that persist and inhibit them from their daily activities.
It is currently estimated that 1 in 20 adults has a headache just about every day.
When you think of a headache, many people describe the pain as a throbbing pressure that can either be sharp or dull and varies in consistency, often brought on in waves. While this pain is oftentimes not serious, it can be difficult to manage without exhausting yourself too quickly.
There are also other types of headaches, such as migraines, that cause more debilitating symptoms.
Headaches can be caused by many factors, and to treat this pain, there are various treatment methods. At Optimum Health Rehabilitation Center, we focus on understanding the unique needs of each patient to personalize headache treatment.
Carrying the burden of frequent headaches quickly becomes exhausting, but our pain relief specialists can help lift some of that weight off of your shoulders.
Take control of your health with the resources available from our local team of professionals. To get in touch with a trusted member of our team, contact us online or call (770)887-9443.
Headache Treatment
When it comes to nerve system functioning, the head, neck, and back are all extremely interconnected.
Many headaches are caused by some pressure in the neck and spine, but relief is not far away. When you come to Optimum Health, one of our chiropractors can work with you to identify and address the root of what’s causing your headaches.
Many people rely on over-the-counter or prescribed painkillers for their headaches. However, these methods rarely address the cause of the pain, only working to subdue the symptoms.
A chiropractor uses techniques that promote your body’s natural healing process, such as spinal manipulation therapy. This pain-relieving technique can adjust misalignments in the spinal column in order to relax tension in the muscles and tackle the cause of your pain.
Aside from chiropractic services, our facility offers comprehensive treatment for headaches, including strategic stretching, traction, trigger point injections, and regenerative therapy.
By using a combination of these techniques, Optimum Health Rehab can help your body target and reverse pain in a proactive way.
What Causes Frequent Headaches
There are an endless amount of reasons why a person could be experiencing frequent, recurring headaches.
Many headaches are easily curable, typically with rest and hydration. But others often recur, with no clear causes, leading to disruptions in routine and frequent bouts of pain.
Searching through the sea of information on headaches can be overwhelming, which is why it is important to never self-diagnose, even if you believe something is truly wrong.
A headache can be caused by anything from dehydration (common) to cancer (very rare, but possible), so always get a professional opinion before assuming the worst.
Some of the most common causes of persistent headaches include:
- Lack of sleep: Being awake for 24 hours is similar to having a BAC of 0.10% (above the U.S. drunk driving level of 0.08. After a while, the brain begins to strain, and it communicates that it is overworked through a headache. College students, new parents, and people who work long hours are extremely likely to experience exhaustion-related headaches.
- Jaw clenching: This stress response typically goes unnoticed but can have lasting effects. The pressure from tightening your jaw can put a strain on your head. The jaw is connected to the head through the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), from the jaw through the cheeks, and to the sides of the head. When you clench your jaw, you can typically feel a slight movement on the sides of your head, and that’s where clenching-related headaches generally begin. To combat this, try putting your tongue between your teeth when you notice yourself beginning to clench your jaw in order to provide some relief and ultimately relax your jaw.
- Unbalanced diet: A consistent diet is an important aspect of a happily functioning body. Overeating and undereating can both cause headaches, along with eating the wrong foods. A diet high in processed ingredients and sugars is likely to cause headaches, whereas eating whole, nutritious foods and staying hydrated has the opposite effect.
- Incorrect eyeglass prescription: Having the wrong eyeglass prescription is a giant inconvenience on its own, but it can also negatively impact your eye health. Excessive eye strain can cause painful headaches. Using the wrong eyeglass prescription forces your eyes to work even harder, causing headaches.
- Stress: This is the most common culprit of tension headaches, causing the muscles around the neck and scalp to contract, tensing up over time. Stress headaches are common, especially for adults and older teens. This type of headache is described as a squeezing pain that hits the sides of the head and a shooting pain that sits at the front of the head. Stress headaches can even run in families and are slightly more common in women than men.
- Overuse of headache medication: The saying ‘everything in moderation’ applies to more than food. Relying on headache medication can provide blissful temporary relief, but the more a person uses it, the more tolerant their body becomes. Once your body is too tolerant to the headache medication, it will have the opposite effect, typically resulting in symptoms like drowsiness, headaches, and nausea.
The following more serious causes are less likely but should always be ruled out by a professional:
- Inflammation around the brain: Known as encephalitis, an inflamed brain is a serious but uncommon condition that causes the brain to swell. It is generally caused by infections or bacteria, possibly passed on by mosquitos or ticks, or can be the result of injury, birth defects, or an autoimmune condition.
- Injury: A serious neck or brain injury will normally result in an intense, immediate headache. Left untreated, these types of injuries pose an extreme risk to the victim. The neck is a very sensitive area, connecting the spinal cord, brain stem, and head, and supports the proper functioning ability for each.
- Too high or low intracranial pressure: Another rare condition, unbalanced intracranial pressure, is caused by loss of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This can result in headaches, blurred vision, changes in behavior, weakness or trouble walking or talking, feeling less alert than usual, getting less sleep, and vomiting.
- Infections: A serious headache can be caused by an infection like meningitis. This is an infection causing inflammation in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This type of headache is generally accompanied by a stiff neck and is described as tender and throbbing.
There are Many Types of Headaches
When you think of headaches, specific pain points probably come to mind. Headaches are such a broad category of pain that we have many types that align with different symptoms.
The most common way we classify types of headaches is the primary or secondary classification.
Primary headaches are not the result of an underlying medical condition, and they may even be genetic. Secondary headaches are known to be caused by dysfunction or overexertion of pain-sensitive areas in the head.
Primary Headaches
Primary headaches may often develop due to lifestyle habits including, but not limited to, overconsumption of alcohol such as red wine, consuming nicotine, bad sleep routine, poor posture, and an unbalanced diet.
These habits can have a strenuous effect on your brain, leading to headaches, sensory problems, and other possible issues.
There are a few specific kinds of primary headaches, including:
- Tension headaches
- Migraines
- Cluster headaches
- New daily persistent headaches (NDPH)
Secondary Headaches
Secondary headaches are typically a symptom of an underlying medical condition. These headaches are brought on by triggered pain-sensitive areas caused by the condition.
This does not always mean that secondary headaches are more serious than primary headaches, as some are quickly resolved once the condition is treated.
One way to decipher between primary and secondary headaches is that secondary headaches develop quickly and out of nowhere, typically getting worse until the issue is addressed.
Many types of secondary headaches are not considered serious and have relatively simple treatment plans, including:
- Dehydration headaches
- Sinus headaches
- Medication overuse headaches
Certain conditions can make secondary headaches a serious concern, and the following types of headaches can be dangerous or potentially life-threatening:
- Spinal headaches: This painful headache is caused by a leakage in spinal fluid from a small puncture in the membrane surrounding the spinal cord. This most commonly occurs after a spinal tap. A spinal headache left untreated can have life-threatening complications.
- Thunderclap headaches: These headaches got their name from the immediate, short-lasting, but extremely sharp pain that takes over the sufferer’s senses, resembling a loud clap of thunder. This type of headache could potentially be harmless, but it is also sometimes a symptom of more serious conditions like a head injury, brain bleed, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, or a sudden rise in blood pressure.
Comprehensive Treatment for Headaches at Optimum Health Rehabilitation Center
The pain relief specialists at Optimum Health in Cumming are standing by to help you. When you work with our rehabilitation facility, we’ll personalize an action plan that targets, relieves, and prevents ongoing headaches.
Our staff is committed to providing aid for each patient that we see and is dedicated to their long-term wellness. To get in touch with a trusted member of our team, contact us online or call (770)887-9443.