Downtown Spine, Sports & Orthopedic Rehabilitation P.C.
65 Broadway / 47 Trinity Place, Suite 603 New York, NY 10006. (212) 422-1111
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Understanding Tension Headaches














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(212) 422-1111
Downtown Spine, Sports & Orthopedic Rehabilitation P.C.

65 Broadway / 47 Trinity Place, Suite 603
(Between Wall Street & Exchange Place)
New York, NY 10006

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Tension headaches are very common, and make up to 90% of adult headaches. You have probably experienced such a headache, which feels like a constant pressure on your head, as if it was being squeezed in a vise. These kinds of headaches may also be referred to as stress headaches. They may appear periodically, which means that you might have the headache for less than 15 days in a month. The headache can last anywhere between half an hour to several days, and they often being gradually. They are also known to occur mostly in the middle of the day.

Tension headaches increase in severity as they increase in frequency. This means that as you continue to have the headaches, the pressure that you feel with each headache also increases. There are also chronic ones that will come and go over a longer time period. The pain in this case will typically be throbbing, affecting the front, sides and top of the head. The pain may vary in severity in the course of the day, but you will almost always feel it throughout. It is worth noting, however, that this kind of chronic headache will have no effect on a persons, vision, strength or balance.

Women have a double chance of suffering from tension headaches when compared to men. Although most people with periodic headaches will have them only about one or two times in a month, this could be more frequent. On the other hand, it would take a person having the headaches for more than 60-90 days in order for the headaches to be classified as chronic. The number of people who suffer from the headaches may range from 30%-80% in the American population, and 3% of these suffer from the chronic condition.

There is no single cause of tension headaches. It should be noted that the condition is not genetic, so you do not have a higher or lower chance of suffering from the same simply from your genetics. However, the kind of environment that you live in may play a part in the same. Generally, the headaches are caused by the muscles in the back of the neck becoming tightened. This can result from a number of factors, both physical and emotional. Physical causes include lack of adequate rest, fatigue, hunger, overexertion and poor posture. Emotional causes include depression, anxiety or mental stress.

For some people such headaches will occur without the muscle in the back of the neck being tight. In such cases, the cause may be unknown, but it is typically know that the headaches will occur when there is and environmental or internal stress. Treatment for tension headaches is meant to prevent similar problems in the future and also relieve the pain that one is feeling at the time. Treatment includes the use of pain relievers, muscle relaxants, antidepressant and other medication. You may also require stress management and relaxation training or biofeedback as part of your treatment. It is important that you see and doctor and take medications as prescribed for treatment of tension headaches.
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